My  German  Correspondence 

Concerning  Germany's  responsibility  for 
the  war  and  for  the  method  of  its  conduct, 
being  a  letter  from  a  German  Professor 
together  with  a  reply  and  foreword 


By 
Professor  Douglas  W.  Johnson 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY.   NEW  YORK  CITY 
AUTHOR  OF  "THE  PERIL  OF  PRUSSIANISM" 


New  York 
George  H.  Doran  Company 


COPYRIGHT,  1917, 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


Contents 


PAGE 

I  FOREWORD 9 

II  THE  LETTER  FROM  A  GERMAN  PRO- 
FESSOR   17 

III  THE  REPLYTO  THE  GERMAN  PROFESSOR    37 


[v] 


Foreword 


I 
Foreword 


A  few  weeks  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
world  war  in  1914,  I  began  to  receive  from 
several  of  my  German  colleagues  letters  in 
which  the  righteousness  of  Germany's 
cause  and  the  iniquity  of  her  enemies'  con- 
duct were  vigorously  asserted.  Although 
written  by  men  of  strongly  contrasted  per- 
sonalities, living  in  widely  separated  parts 
of  the  German  Empire,  the  letters  were 
strikingly  similar  in  tone.  All  betrayed  the 
most  bitter  resentment  that  American  opin- 
ion should  incline  in  favor  of  Belgium  and 
her  defenders;  all  were  filled  with  the 
charges,  long  since  become  familiar  to  our 
ears,  that  the  American  people  were 
"drowned  in  English  lies,"  and  the  Ameri- 
can press  "bought  with  English  gold," 

In  a  few  of  these  letters  extreme  bitter- 
ness of  spirit  betrayed  the  author  into  using 
language  which  made  any  reply  impossible. 
[9] 


My  German  Correspondence 


To  most  of  them  a  response  was  sent  which 
carefully  avoided  discussion  of  the  issues  of 
the  war,  but  expressed  concern  for  the  per- 
sonal sacrifices  my  colleagues  were  endur- 
ing for  their  Fatherland.  Some  were  send- 
ing sons,  all  were  sending  beloved  students, 
to  die  on  the  field  of  battle.  However  much 
we  might  disagree  as  to  the  causes  and  ob- 
jects of  the  war,  both  they  and  I  could  com- 
prehend its  tragic  sorrows;  and  it  seemed 
that  sympathetic  interest  in  the  suffering  of 
my  German  friends  might  help  to  keep  in- 
tact the  bridges  of  personal  friendship  to 
span  the  chasm  opening  between  Germany 
and  America. 

In  one  case  only  did  I  venture  to  discuss 
the  merits  of  the  German  cause  and  to  in- 
terpret American  opinion  on  the  war.  One 
of  my  colleagues,  after  writing  several  let- 
ters to  which  I  thought  it  wiser  to  attempt 
no  answer,  addressed  to  me  a  long  commu- 
nication in  which  a  sincere  and  earnest  ef- 
fort was  made  to  justify  by  reasoned  argu- 
ment Germany's  conduct  in  the  war.  The 
evident  care  which  the  author  had  bestowed 
upon  his  task,  and  the  unmistakable  sin- 
[10] 


Foreword 


cerity  of  his  belief  in  the  justice  of  all  he 
wrote,  demanded  that  I  should  reply  in 
equal  good  faith.  The  letter  which  forms 
the  basis  of  this  little  book  represents  an 
attempt  to  express  to  my  German  colleague 
America's  judgment  on  the  issues  of  the 
war,  and  the  grounds  upon  which  that  judg- 
ment rests. 

A  word  about  the  subsequent  history  of 
this  letter  may  not  be  inappropriate.  It 
was  not  written  for  publication,  and  the  idea 
that  it  might  contain  matter  of  interest  to 
the  public  was  an  afterthought.  Unbound- 
ed admiration  for  the  magnificent  heroism 
of  France  as  she  battled  to  stem  the  tide  of 
Prussian  barbarism  first  suggested  to  me  the 
thought  that  there  might  be  some  comfort 
for  my  French  colleagues  in  the  statement 
of  American  opinion  which  the  letter  con- 
tained. A  copy  was  circulated  among  a  few 
personal  friends  at  the  Sorbonne,  and  ap- 
peared by  permission  in  the  Revue  de  Paris 
of  September,  1916.  It  was  later  issued 
in  brochure  form  from  the  press  of  Armand 
Colin  under  the  title  "Lettre  d'un  Ameri- 
cain  a  un  Allemand."  In  the  French  trans- 
[11] 


My  German  Correspondence 

lation  the  author  is  indebted  to  his  good 
friend  and  colleague,  Professor  Albert  De- 
mangeon,  for  a  beauty  of  style  and  an  elo- 
quence of  expression  which  he  has  been  un- 
able to  discover  in  the  English  original. 
Extract?  from  the  letter  have  since  been 
translated  into  most  of  the  languages  of 
Europe  and  published  as  an  expression  of 
America's  attitude  toward  the  menace  of 
German  autocracy.  The  publicity  depart- 
ment of  the  British  Government  issued  the 
English  text  as  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Plain 
Words  from  America." 

The  communication  which  called  forth 
my  letter  has  not  heretofore  been  published. 
It  is  included  in  the  present  booklet  for  the 
reason  that  since  America's  entrance  into  the 
struggle  it  seems  particularly  appropriate 
that  any  analysis  of  American  opinion  on 
the  issues  of  the  war  presented  to  American 
readers  should  contain  a  fair  statement  of 
our  enemy's  opinion  on  those  issues.  Both 
in  spirit  and  in  content  my  correspondent's 
letter  is  typical  of  many  received  from 
other  German  university  professors,  and  of 
the  manifestoes,  appeals,  and  interviews  of 
[12] 


Foreword 


various  German  intellectuals  already  pub- 
lished in  this  country  during  the  last  three 
years.  One  cannot  doubt,  therefore,  that  it 
fairly  represents  the  attitude  of  educated 
Germans  toward  the  war  and  toward  Amer- 
ica; and  since  it  deals  wholly  with  questions 
of  international  concern  and  contains  noth- 
ing of  a  personal  nature,  there  can  be  no 
impropriety  in  its  publication  so  long  as 
the  identity  of  the  author  is  not  revealed 
without  his  permission.  It  is  a  fortunate 
circumstance  that  the  letter  was  addressed 
to  me  in  the  English  language,  for  it  is  thus 
possible  to  reproduce  it  verbatim  and  avoid 
danger  of  modifying  either  meaning  or 
spirit  in  translation.  The  general  excel- 
lence of  the  English  text  is  in  itself  an  indi- 
cation of  the  writer's  high  intellectual 
standing. 

I  have  often  been  asked  whether  my  reply 
reached  its  destination.  I  have  no  knowl- 
edge on  this  point.  Copies  were  sent  by 
several  routes,  both  direct  to  my  colleague's 
German  address,  and  indirectly  through  a 
neutral  European  country  to  a  mutual 
friend,  with  request  for  forwarding.  In 
[13] 


My  German  Correspondence 

this  manner  I  hoped  that  one  copy  might 
possibly  pass  the  German  censor,  and  that 
through  my  friend  other  Germans  might 
learn  some  truths  which  their  government 
carefully  conceals  from  its  deluded  people. 
If  this  was  a  vain  hope,  the  publication  of 
the  letter  has  at  least  served  a  useful  pur- 
pose in  bringing  to  our  present  allies  one 
slight  evidence  of  American  sympathy  and 
understanding  at  a  time  when  we  were  offi- 
cially neutral.  Now  that  we  have  at  last 
redeemed  our  solemn  obligation  to  human- 
ity by  taking  our  place  on  the  battle  front, 
the  letter  is,  I  trust,  more  than  ever  perti- 
nent for  American  readers,  since  it  discusses 
the  fundamental  issues  which  caused  us  to 
unsheathe  the  sword  in  defense  of  justice 
and  civilization,  and  seeks  to  interpret 
America's  judgment  as  to  the  condition  on 
which  the  world  can  hope  to  secure  a  just 
and  durable  peace,  and  the  German  people 
expect  to  regain  their  lost  honour. 

DOUGLAS  W.  JOHNSON. 


[14] 


The  Letter  From  A  Ger- 
man Professor 


II 

The  Letter  From  A  Ger- 
man Professor 

July  Q,  IQI5. 

My  dear  Johnson: 

Although  I  have  received  no  answer  to 
my  letter  of  September  28th,  I  conclude 
from  the  newspaper  cuttings  you  have  kind- 
ly sent  me  from  time  to  time,  especially 
since  the  destruction  of  the  Lusitania,  that 
you  do  not  find  my  arguments  convincing. 
At  this  I  am  not  altogether  surprised  since 
you  evidently  get  your  view  of  the  present 
state  of  affairs  from  the  public  press,  and 
moreover  from  the  press  of  a  political  party 
whose  aim  is  to  spread  a  "world's  war"  by 
exciting  animosity  between  two  countries 
that  have  hitherto  lived  in  peace  and  friend- 
ship and  whose  welfare  demands  the  con- 
tinuance of  that  friendship.  It  is  mainly 
due  to  the  influence  of  this  unscrupulous  and 
frivolous  press,  which  pretends  to  represent 
[17] 


My  German  Correspondence 

the  public  conscience  but  in  reality  speaks 
only  in  the  selfish  interests  of  its  owners  and 
editors,  that  we  have  arrived  at  such  a  pass 
that  the  nations  no  longer  understand  each 
other. 

The  great  civilised  nations  have  uecome 
the  prey  of  a  psychopathological  condition 
which  renders  the  relations  between  the 
most  cultured  races  almost  .similar  to  those 
which  obtain  between  the  leaders  of  the 
various  religious  bodies,  only  much  worse 
and  far  less  reconciled.  They  have  lost  not 
only  the  power  to  judge  fairly  each  other's 
character  and  actions,  but  also  the  wish  to 
do  so.  With  us  Germans  this  deplorable 
mental  disease  undoubtedly  takes  a  less  viru- 
lent form  than  with  the  hostile  nations,  and 
is  already  on  the  way  to  recovery;  whereas 
with  the  others  it  appears  to  have  reached 
the  phase  of  paroxysm.  This  is  inexpres- 
sibly sad  and  depresses  me  even  more  than 
the  dreadful  slaughter  of  this  terrible  war, 
for  I  fear  that  this  condition  is  incurable 
and  will  spread. 

Is  it  not  almost  inconceivable,  to  take  a 
case  in  point,  that  men  of  high  position  in 
[18] 


From  A  German  Professor 

the  hostile  countries — and,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
not  a  few  in  America — men  of  science,  ac- 
customed to  accept  as  fact  only  what  is 
proved  by  unimpeachable  evidence — nay 
even  only  after  the  impossibility  of  nega- 
tion has  been  proved — are  satisfied  to  de- 
rive their  ideas  of  Germany  and  the  Ger- 
mans from  the  daily  papers  and  from  those 
of  a  single  party  at  that,  without  taking  the 
trouble  to  inquire  into  their  reasonableness? 
Any  thinking  man  of  cultured  mind  must, 
one  would  think,  know  what  a  newspaper 
really  is:  a  business  concern,  founded  and 
carried  on  with  the  purpose  of  enriching  its 
owners  by  supporting  the  interests  of  a  po- 
litical party,  of  commercial  and  industrial 
undertakings,  and  open-handed  govern- 
ments of  foreign  powers.  It  supports  these 
interests  quite  regardless  of  their  effect,  ben- 
eficial or  the  reverse,  upon  the  real  public 
interests  of  its  own  country,  regardless  of 
truth  and  justice.  And  how  is  such  a  paper 
produced?  A  journalist  writes  on  all  man- 
ner of  subjects  without  knowing  or  seeking 
to  know  much  about  them;  he  is  often  not 
in  a  position  to  do  so :  and  without  the  small- 
[19] 


My  German  Correspondence 

est  scruple  on  the  score  of  the  mischief  and 
confusion  that  will  arise  out  of  his  thought- 
less utterances.  He  gives  his  articles  the 
colour  that  is  prescribed  by  his  paper  and 
does  not  trouble  himself  about  the  disastrous 
results,  the  mental  poison  doled  out  to  the 
people  who  derive  their  views  and  opinions 
from  the  one  paper  they  read.  The  daily 
press  has  thus  become  one  of  the  direct 
plagues  of  humanity,  an  ulcer  in  the  frame 
of  society,  whose  one  object  it  is,  for  private 
ends  (wealth,  political  influence  and  social 
position)  to  pit  the  races,  nations,  religions 
and  classes  against  one  another. 

For  the  last  fifteen  years  the  French  and 
English  press,  for  the  last  six  to  eight  years 
the  Russian  and  now  the  Italian  and  no 
small  part  of  the  press  of  the  neutral  coun- 
tries— also  the  American — have  laboured 
in  the  employ  or  at  the  instigation  of  their 
respective  governments,  with  all  the  imple- 
ments of  mendacity  and  defamation,  to 
spread  hatred  and  contempt  for  Germany 
the  wide  world  over,  with  the  common  ob- 
ject of  setting  all  the  powers  against  us  and 
[20] 


From  A  German  Professor 

compassing  our  ruin,   thus  preparing  the 
present  war. 

This  awful  war,  unexampled  in  the  his- 
tory of  all  times,  is  due  in  great  measure  to 
the  press,  and  to  that  also  it  owes  its  pecul- 
iarly pernicious  character.  And  from  this 
same  press  you,  my  dear  Johnson,  draw 
your  opinion  of  German  conduct  and 
"German  atrocities"!  Have  you  never 
thought  of  the  numerous  Germans  with 
whom  you  are  personally  acquainted?  Do 
you  believe  any  of  them  capable  of  com- 
mitting or  countenancing  such  atrocities? 
Do  you  consider  what  advances  the  Ger- 
man nation  has  achieved  in  the  fields  of 
science  and  social  culture?  If  so,,  how 
can  you  deem  it  capable  of  such  deeds  as 
your  American  press  lays  to  its  charge?  War 
is  an  infamous  condition  in  which  all  the 
passions  are  let  loose,  and  amongst  a  million 
of  soldiers  there  must  of  course  be  some  bad 
characters  who  take  the  opportunity  to  fol- 
low their  evil  instincts;  but  are  not  horrible 
crimes  committed  in  times  of  peace  daily 
and  hourly — yes,  even  in  your  own  New 
York? 

[21] 


My  German  Correspondence 

The  iron  necessities  of  the  conflict  now 
and  then  compel  all  the  opposing  troops  to 
cruel  actions  by  which  harmless  non-com- 
batants have  to  suffer — war  is  war  and  a 
scourge  of  society,  but  no  one  has  yet  dis- 
covered a  means  of  doing  away  with  it. 
Since  the  day  when  Cain  slew  Abel  there 
has  been  war  among  men,  and  the  same  pas- 
sions which  ruled  mankind  thousands  of 
years  ago  rule  them  in  a  measure  still:  love, 
hate,  selfishness  and  greed,  envy  and  ambi- 
tion. So  long  as  this  is  the  case  war  will  nat 
cease  to  exist. 

But  the  reports  of  atrocities  said  to  have 
been  committed  by  the  German  troops  are 
mean  lies  and  calumnies,  based  upon  single 
unavoidable  actions.  The  documents  sup- 
posed to  prove  these  accusations  are  all  for- 
geries or  perversions  of  the  truth.  The  Ger- 
man government  has  published  proofs  of 
this  fact,  but  your  newspapers  do  not  choose 
to  publish  these  but  only  the  calumnies  of 
our  enemies.  Nor  have  the  American  pa- 
pers ever  published  any  of  the  almost  incon- 
ceivably inhuman  cruelties  perpetrated  by 
the  Russians  in  our  Eastern  provinces.  In 
[22] 


From  A  German  Professor 

the  course  of  their  short  invasion  they  con- 
verted these  districts  into  waste  deserts,  and 
that  without  any  military  necessity  what- 
ever. All  the  towns  and  villages  were  de- 
stroyed, peaceable  folk,  regardless  of  age 
and  sex,  were  slaughtered  and  the  whole 
country  plundered.  Why  do  your  American 
newspapers  take  no  notice  of  all  this?  They 
want  to  make  the  utterly  improbable  appear 
to  be  true — namely,  that  the  Russians  are 
a  civilised  people,  the  Germans  barbarians. 
In  their  campaign  of  lying  and  defamation 
the  hostile  governments  have  two  objects 
in  view:  to  excite  the  animosity  of  their  own 
people  and  so  keep  up  the  war  spirit;  and 
to  incite  the  neutral  states  against  us  in  order 
to  add  to  our  difficulties.  In  America  these 
tactics  have  been  only  too  successful. 

And  now,  as  to  the  LusitaniaH  She  was 
scheduled  in  the  Register  of  the  British 
Navy  as  an  "auxiliary  cruiser."  This  is  an 
undeniable  fact  and  is  alone  sufficient,  ac- 
cording to  international  law,  to  justify  our 
action  and  to  refute  all  the  American  ap- 
peals against  it.  The  Lusitania  was  armed. 
The  examination  by  the  American  authori- 
[23] 


My  German  Correspondence 

ties  was  careless,  otherwise  it  must  have  re- 
vealed the  guns  concealed  behind  canvas 
partitions.  A  large  part  of  the  cargo  also 
consisted  of  ammunition  for  our  enemies, 
in  quantity  enough  to  kill  many  thousands 
of  German  soldiers.  Ought  we  then  to  have 
allowed  these  war-stores  to  be  landed  in 
England  just  because  a  number  of  Ameri- 
can citizens  were  so  reckless  as  to  travel  by 
that  vessel  in  spite  of  repeated  warnings?  Is 
the  life  of  a  hundred  American  citizens  con- 
sidered to  be  more  valuable  than  that  of 
thousands  of  German  soldiers?  The  Amer- 
ican passengers  were  purposely  tempted  by 
the  British  Shipping  Company  to  sail  on 
board  of  the  Lusitania  in  order  to  preserve 
the  cargo  of  military  stores  from  German 
attacks.  Why  did  not  the  American  govern- 
ment prevent  this  in  accordance  with  its 
own  regulations,  which  forbid  the  convey- 
ance of  passengers  in  the  same  ships  with 
explosives?  Why  does  the  American  gov- 
ernment and  the  public  opinion  in  America 
not  make  the  British  Shipping  Company  re- 
sponsible for  the  disaster,  instead  of  quali- 
fying the  well  justified  act  of  German  self- 
[24] 


From  A  German  Professor 

defence  as  barbarous?  It  is  a  fact  that  the 
rapid  sinking  of  the  Lusitania  was  not  the 
result  of  the  single  torpedo  shot,  but  was 
due  to  the  explosion  of  ammunition  in  her 
hold.  Over  and  above,  it  is  an  undeniable 
fact  that  the  Lusitania  sailed  in  a  previous 
passage  under  false  colours  and  thus  placed 
itself  out  of  international  law,  that  she  car- 
ried in  previous  passages  many  thousands  of 
tons  of  military  ammunition. 

If  the  American  people  were  allowed 
calmly  to  review  all  these  facts  its  excite- 
ment would  abate,  but  the  friends  of  the 
multi-millionaires — Vanderbilt  and  Pear- 
son— use  their  influence  with  the  press  to 
prevent  this.  One  of  the  traits  of  the  Amer- 
ican character,  which  I  often  had  occasion 
to  note  during  my  stay  in  America,  is  an  in- 
ordinate worship  of  the  possessors  of  great 
wealth,  a  respect  far  greater  than  we  show 
toward  our  greatest  nobles.  The  fact  that 
such  persons  were  victims  of  the  German 
attack  biases  public  opinion  in  America 
and  above  all  in  the  American  press.  The 
cuttings  you  sent  me  evince  nervous  excite- 
ment and  blind  rage,  but  also  a  total  absence 
[25] 


My  German  Correspondence 

of  real  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  and 
of  calm  reflection. 

I  acquired  during  my  stay  in  your  coun- 
try a  very  high  opinion  of  the  American 
people,  its  constitution,  its  social,  municipal 
and  scientific  institutions ;  but  one  thing  was 
an  almost  daily  surprise  to  me.  I  mean  the 
low  intellectual  standing  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  daily  papers  and  the  conse- 
quent prevailing  ignorance  of  European  af- 
fairs. This  is  exemplified  even  in  a  speech 
— mentioned  in  one  of  the  newspaper  cut- 
tings you  forwarded  to  me — by  the  Ex- At- 
torney General  George  W.  Wickersham. 
That  high  official  said:  "In  the  crisis  in 
Servia  two  years  before  King  Peter  was  as- 
sassinated all  the  powers  recalled  their  rep- 
resentatives from  Servia  because  they  con- 
sidered that  Servia  should  not  be  treated  as  a 
civilised  nation."  This  he  made  the  text  for 
important  political  advice,  which,  if  fol- 
lowed by  the  American  government,  must 
lead  to  war  between  America  and  Germany. 
Now  the  assassination  in  Servia  took  place 
in  1903.  The  victims  were  King  Alexander 
and  Queen  Draga,  her  two  brothers,  the 
[26] 


From  A  German  Professor 

prime  minister  and  other  members  of  the 
government.  The  murderers  usurped  the 
highest  posts  in  the  state  and  the  present 
king,  whose  name  is  Peter,  and  who  was  in 
collusion  with  the  instigators  of  the  crime, 
ascended  the  throne.  The  English  govern- 
ment was  the  only  one  that  withdrew  its 
ambassador.  This  Servian  state  and  people, 
whose  history  is  one  uninterrupted  chain  of 
bloody  deeds  and  at  whose  instigation  the 
heir  to  the  Austro-Hungarian  crown  and 
his  wife  were  murdered,  whence  arose  the 
conflict  between  Austria  and  Servia  and 
eventually  the  great  war,  this  Servian  peo- 
ple is  now  held  up — also  on  the  part  of 
England — for  commiseration  as  a  poor,  in- 
nocent victim  of  our  barbarous  pugnacity. 
How  can  a  man,  so  ignorant  of  recent 
European  history,  airily  presume  to  direct 
public  opinion  on  a  question  of  such  im- 
portance to  the  welfare  of  his  country? 
What  would  be  said  in  America  of  a  prom- 
inent German,  who  should  express  himself 
upon  American  affairs,  stating  as  an  histor- 
ical fact  the  assassination  of  President  Taft 
in  the  year  1856,  and  speaking  of  the  present 
[27] 


My  German  Correspondence 

president  as  Abraham  Lincoln?  There  you 
have  one  example  out  of  a  thousand  of  the 
way  in  which  the  ignorance  and  unscrupu- 
lous acts  of  the  press  mislead  public  opin- 
ion. Instead  of  genuine  information,  care- 
fully weighed  and  revised,  the  press  makes 
use  of  catch-words  and  phrases  and  these 
are  credulously  swallowed  even  by  well  ed- 
ucated men  of  high  position  without  any 
attempt  to  test  their  true  value. 

One  of  these  catch-words  is  "Militarism!" 
It  is  said  that  we  Germans  intend  to  impose 
our  Militarism  on  the  whole  world  and  to 
dominate  all  the  other  European  states  and 
deprive  them  of  their  liberty!  Have  you 
considered  what  this  dreaded  "Militarism" 
really  is?  For  us  Germans  it  is  a  system 
adopted  voluntarily  by  all  classes,  high  and 
low  without  exception,  for  the  defence  of 
our  independence  and  freedom,  which  are 
endangered  by  our  geographical  position, 
surrounded  as  we  are  on  all  sides  by  envious 
neighbours.  But  for  this  organisation  Ger- 
many would  even  now  be  laid  low,  for  it 
presents  a  barrier  to  the  political  aims  of 
the  other  great  powers.  This  "Militarism" 
[28] 


From  A  German  Professor 

(so  reprehensible  in  us)  has  been  imitated 
and  even  surpassed  by  our  enemies!  France 
has  done  so  in  the  hope  of  revenge  for  1870 
and  of  regaining  the  thoroughly  German 
provinces,  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  while  it 
professes  to  fight  for  racial  independence. 

Russian  militarism,  which  is  more  intense 
and  more  comprehensive  than  any  other, 
aims  at  the  annihilation  of  Austria,  because 
that  Power  is  a  hindrance  to  the  century-old 
Russian  scheme  to  conquer  Constantinople 
and  incorporate  all  the  Slav  states  in  its  own, 
although  that  is  already  too  gigantic  to  ad- 
mit of  proper  government  and  development. 

England,  as  her  insular  position  demands, 
has  to  the  utmost  developed  Marinism.  This 
she  has  done  systematically  and  logically  in 
order  to  maintain  her  supremacy  on  the  seas 
and  her  policy  of  allowing  other  countries 
only  such  development  as  she  deems  consis- 
tent with  her  own  interests. 

Where  in  the  American  press  do  you  read 
of  French  or  Russian  "Militarism"  or  of 
British  "Marinism"?  It  is  always  the  hor- 
ror of  "Prussian  Militarism."  They  talk 
of  German  national  economy  as  antiquated, 
[29] 


My  German  Correspondence 

of  our  institutions  as  servile  and  never  are 
at  the  pains  to  look  into  them.  It  is  so  much 
easier  to  feed  upon  phrases! 

In  reality  our  Constitution  and  our  insti- 
tutions are  freer  than  almost  any  others  and 
yet  they  call  them  reactionary?  Our  suffrage 
is  the  most  liberal  in  the  world  and  the 
liberties  of  the  subject  only  so  far  controlled 
as  is  requisite  for  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. There  is  no  other  legislature  reg- 
ulating the  relations  of  employers  and  em- 
ployees to  compare  with  ours.  Remember, 
too,  that  with  us  Parliament  and  adminis- 
tration are  not,  as  in  many  other  countries, 
in  the  hands  of  selfish  schemers  and  specula- 
tors, of  coteries  and  cliques,  all  trying  to 
elbow  their  way  to  the  manger  to  fill  their 
stomachs  and  line  their  nests  at  the  expense 
of  the  state. 

One  word  more  on  the  subject  of  the  Lu- 
sitania:  Why,  if  it  is  cruel,  barbarous,  inhu- 
man to  sink  a  ship  that  brings  munitions  of 
war  to  our  enemies  for  use  against  us,  is  there 
no  outcry  in  America  against  England's 
scheme  to  starve  out  a  nation  of  70  million 
souls  by  cutting  off  the  importation  of  food? 
[30] 


From  A  German  Professor 

Where  is  your  pity  in  this  case?  This  ac- 
tion on  England's  part  is  the  sole  cause  of 
our  submarine  warfare.  Of  course  it  is  a 
dreadful  expedient,  but  we  have  no  other 
wherewith  to  check  England's  starvation 
plan.  Let  England  open  the  blockade  and 
we  shall  instantly  recall  our  submarine  ves- 
sels. Why  does  not  America  intervene?  She 
has  every  right  to  demand  that  England 
should  not  hinder  her  legitimate  commerce, 
the  exportation  to  Germany  of  foodstuffs 
and  other  goods  that  do  not  serve  the  pur- 
poses of  war.  Why  does  America  submit  to 
this  interference  in  her  commerce  at  the 
same  time  that  she  calls  down  all  manner 
of  curses  upon  us  because  we  defend  our- 
selves? Is  this  behaviour  fair?  Is  it  fair, 
is  it  humane,  that  America  sends  weapons, 
even  poisoned  weapons,  to  our  enemies  for 
use  against  us?  For  filthy  lucre  America 
provided  guns  and  projectiles,  which  wid- 
owed a  hundred  thousand  German  wives 
and  made  hundreds  of  thousands  of  German 
orphans.  Is  not  this  barbarous?  Mean- 
while, we  Germans  are  denounced  as  inhu- 
man, barbarous  because  to  prevent  the  land- 
[31] 


My  German  Correspondence 

ing  of  munitions  in  England  we  had  to  risk 
the  lives  of  Americans,  who  needlessly  and 
in  spite  of  warning  incurred  this  risk. 

In  America  you  talk  of  peace  and  inter- 
vention,— and  export  the  materials  for  war! 
Were  it  not  for  the  export  of  weapons  and 
ammunition  to  our  enemies,  the  war  would 
have  been  over  long  ago.  Were  America 
to  stop  this  traffic  to-day,  then  would  be 
peace  to-morrow.  It  is  in  America's  option 
to  restore  peace  to  the  world.  That  would 
be  a  noble  deed. 

I  have  been  impelled,  my  dear  Johnson, 
by  my  friendly  feeling  for  you  to  endeavour 
to  disabuse  your  mind  on  some  of  those 
points  on  which  you  appear  to  be  deceived 
by  the  ignorant  and  too  often  venal  press, 
and  I  should  be  heartily  glad  if  I  were  suc- 
cessful. The  time  and  pains  I  have  spent 
on  this  letter  would  then  not  have  been  in 
vain. 

If  you  have  any  regard  for  me  and  believe 
me  incapable  of  a  criminal  action,  please 
remember  that  far  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  men  of  my  intellectual  and  moral 
standing  are  serving  and  fighting  among  our 
[32] 


From  A  German  Professor 

million  soldiers.  You  will  then  believe  that 
our  army  is  not  guilty  of  the  shameful' out- 
rages laid  to  its  charge. 

I  am,  my  dear  Johnson, 

Yours  very  truly, 


[33] 


The  Reply  to  the  German 
Professor 


Ill 

The  Reply  to  the  German 
Professor 


February,  1916. 

MY  DEAR : 

Your  two  letters,  with  enclosed  newspaper 
clippings,  and  your  postal  card  were  duly 
received.  I  can  assure  you  that  my  failure 
to  reply  more  promptly  was  not  meant  as 
any  discourtesy.  The  clippings  were  gladly 
received,  for  I  am  always  anxious  to  read 
what  prominent  Germans  regard  as  able 
and  convincing  presentations  of  their  side 
of  disputed  matters.  Your  own  letters,  par- 
ticularly the  long  one  of  July  9,  were  read 
most  carefully.  I  appreciate  your  earnest 
endeavour  to  convince  me  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  your  country's  cause,  and  am  not  un- 
mindful of  the  time  and  trouble  you  spent 
in  preparing  for  me  so  carefully  worded  a 
presentation  of  the  German  point  of  view 
touching  several  matters  of  the  profoundest 
importance  to  our  two  Governments. 
[37] 


My  German  Correspondence 

My  failure  to  reply  has  been  due  to  a 
doubt  in  my  own  mind  as  to  whether  good 
would  be  accomplished  by  any  letter  which 
I  could  write.  I  could  not  agree  with  your 
opinions  regarding  Germany's  responsibil- 
ity for  the  war,  nor  regarding  her  methods 
of  conducting  the  war;  and  it  did  not  seem 
to  me  that  you  would  profit  by  any  statement 
I  might  make  as  to  the  reasons  for  my  own 
opinions  on  such  vital  matters.  Your  let- 
ters clearly  showed  that  you  wrote  under 
the  influence  of  an  intense  emotion — an 
emotion  which  I  can  both  understand  and 
respect,  but  which  might  well  make  it  im- 
possible for  you  to  accord  a  dispassionate 
reception  to  a  reply  which  controverted 
your  own  views.  With  your  country  sur- 
rounded by  powerful  foes,  with  your  sons 
deluging  alien  soil  in  an  heroic  defence  of 
your  Government's  decrees,  with  the  nation 
you  love  most  dearly  standing  in  moral  iso- 
lation, condemned  by  the  entire  neutral 
world  for  barbarous  crimes  against  civilisa- 
tion, you  could  hardly  be  expected  to  write 
with  that  scientific  accuracy  and  care  which 
would,  in  normal  times,  be  your  ideal. 
[38] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

For  this  reason  I  have  not  resented  much 
in  your  letters  which  would  otherwise  call 
for  earnest  protest.  I  feel  sure,  for  example, 
your  assertion  that  I  and  my  fellow-country- 
men derive  our  opinions  of  German  conduct 
wholly  from  corrupt  and  venal  newspapers, 
or  usually  from  a  single  newspaper  which 
doles  out  mental  poison  in  subservience  to  a 
single  political  party,  was  not  intended  to  be 
as  insulting  as  it  really  sounded.  Your  emo- 
tion doubtless  led  you  to  make  charges 
which  your  sense  of  justice  and  courtesy 
would,  under  other  circumstances,  con- 
demn. I  believe  also  that  in  a  calmer  time 
you  would  not  entertain  the  sweeping 
opinion  that  "the  daily  press  has  become 
one  of  the  direct  plagues  of  human- 
ity, an  ulcer  in  the  frame  of  society, 
whose  one  object  it  is,  for  private  ends 
(wealth,  political  influence,  and  social  posi- 
tion), to  pit  the  races,  nations,  religions,  and 
classes  against  one  another."  I  realise  that 
some  of  our  papers  are  a  disgrace  to  the 
high  calling  of  journalism;  I  believe  that 
some  sacrifice  honour  for  gain  and  that 
some  are  subservient  to  special  interests;  but 
[39] 


My  German  Correspondence 

the  roll  of  American  journalists  is  honoured 
by  the  presence  of  many  names  which  com- 
mand respect  at  home  and  abroad  because 
of  a  long-standing  reputation  for  honesty, 
fearlessness,  and  distinguished  service  in  the 
cause  of  humanity.  To  one  such  name  was 
added  at  our  last  commencement  the  degree 
representing  one  of  the  highest  honours 
which  Columbia  University  has  to  bestow 
upon  a  man  of  lofty  ideals  and  honourable 
achievement.  The  paper  edited  by  this 
man  is  among  those  most  extensively  read 
by  myself  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
other  Americans  who  demand  to  know  the 
truth.  However  low  may  be  the  moral 
plane  of  some  newspapers,  your  character- 
isation of  all  newspapers  as  mere  business 
concerns,  founded  and  carried  on  with  the 
purpose  of  enriching  their  owners,  and  sup- 
porting certain  special  interests,  "quite  re- 
gardless of  their  effect,  beneficial  or  the  re- 
verse, upon  the  real  public  interests  of  their 
own  country,  regardless  of  truth  and  jus- 
tice," is  not  at  all  true  of  the  class  of  papers 
read  by  the  majority  of  intelligent  Ameri- 
cans. I  am  not  sufficiently  familiar  with  a 
[40] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

large  number  of  German  newspapers  to 
make  assertions  as  to  their  standards;  but,  in 
spite  of  the  smaller  amount  of  freedom  al- 
lowed to  the  press  in  your  country,  I  can 
scarcely  imagine  that  conditions  are  bad 
enough  to  justify  your  sweeping  condemna- 
tion of  all  newspapers. 

If  you  had  stopped  to  consider  the  radi- 
cally different  relations  existing  between  the 
press  and  the  Government  in  Germany  and 
in  America,  you  would  scarcely  have  fallen 
into  the  error  of  asserting  that  a  consider- 
able proportion  of  our  papers,  in  common 
with  those  of  other  nations,  have  "laboured 
in  the  employ  or  at  the  instigation  of"  the 
Government,  "with  all  the  implements  of 
mendacity  and  defamation,  to  spread  hatred 
and  contempt  for  Germany."  Unlike  your 
own,  our  press  is  wholly  free  from  Govern- 
ment control.  Any  attempt  on  the  part  of 
our  Government  to  dictate  the  policy  of 
any  newspaper  would  be  hotly  resented,  and 
would  be  doomed  to  certain  failure.  Amer- 
icans do  not  believe  in  the  German  doctrine 
that  the  press  must  be  "so  far  controlled 
as  is  requisite  for  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
[41] 


My  German  Correspondence 

munity,"  and  hold  that  absolute  freedom 
of  speech  is  essential  to  true  liberty.  There 
is  no  censorship  of  the  American  press.* 
You  have  a  censorship  which  all  the  outside 
world  knows  has  been  wonderfully  effective 
in  keeping  some  important  facts  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  German  people.  No 
American  paper  can  be  suppressed  because 
of  what  it  prints.  You  are,  of  course,  well 
aware  that,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  Ger- 
man papers  have  been  suppressed  for  cer- 
tain periods  because  your  Government  did 
not  believe  that  what  they  said  was  for  the 
good  of  the  country.  I  enclose  a  message 
received  by  wireless  under  German  control 
which  is  only  one  of  the  many  announce- 
ments telling  of  suppression  of  your  papers. 
It  does  not  alter  the  situation  to  say  that  cen- 
sorship and  suppression  are  necessary  for 
the  good  of  the  Fatherland,  and  that  the 
papers  in  question  deserved  to  be  sup- 
pressed. The  vital  fact  remains  that  your 
newspapers  are  not  free  to  publish  anything 
they  like.  Ours  are  thus  free.  Every  issue 
of  your  papers  must  be  submitted  to  your 

*  See  note  page  97. 

[42] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

police,  so  that  your  rulers  may  control  what 
you  write  and  read.  Not  a  paper  in  America 
is  submitted  to  any  official  whatever.  You 
cannot  read  anything  which  your  Govern- 
ment believes  it  wise  to  keep  from  you.  We 
can  read  everything,  whether  the  Govern- 
ment likes  it  or  not.  Americans  believe 
there  can  be  no  truly  free  press,  and  no  real 
unfettered  public  opinion,  with  the  possi- 
bility of  punishment  hanging  over  the  press 
of  a  country.  Where  the  police,  represent- 
ing the  ruling  power,  controls  the  press 
there  is  no  true  liberty.  Whatever  else  may 
be  said  against  the  American  press,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  it  is  free  from  Govern- 
ment control.  It  is  not  necessary,  therefore, 
to  inquire  whether  the  American  Govern- 
ment has  employed  or  instigated  the  public 
press  to  attack  Germany,  since,  even  if  it 
desired  to  do  so,  it  would  not  dare  make  the 
attempt. 

There  are  many  other  statements  in  your 
letters  which  can  only  be  explained  as  the 
result  of  writing  under  stress  of  intense 
emotion;  you  would  probably  wish  to 
modify  many  of  these  were  you  writing  un- 
[43] 


My  German  Correspondence 

der  happier  circumstances.  It  is  not  my 
desire,  however,  to  dwell  upon  this  phase 
of  your  correspondence.  I  do  not  for  a 
moment  doubt  your  sincerity,  and  believe 
you  were  yourself  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  all  you  wrote.  My  purpose  in  writing 
this  letter  is  to  accept  in  good  faith  your  ex- 
pressed wish  for  a  better  understanding  be- 
tween two  peoples  who  have  long  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  one  another,  and  to 
contribute  toward  this  end  by  removing,  at 
least  so  far  as  we  two  are  concerned,  one 
serious  misunderstanding  which  now  exists. 
As  you  are  well  aware,  the  American  peo- 
ple, with  the  exception  of  a  certain  propor- 
tion of  German-born  population,  are  prac- 
tically unanimous  in  condemning  Germany 
for  bringing  on  the  war  and  for  conducting 
it  in  a  barbarous  manner.  You,  together 
with  hosts  of  your  fellow-countrymen,  be- 
lieve this  unfavourable  opinion  is  the  result 
of  the  truth  being  kept  from  the  American 
public  by  improper  means.  It  is,  of  course, 
a  comforting  thought  to  you  that  when  the 
whole  truth  is  known  we  will  revise  our 
opinions  and  realise  that  Germany  acted 
[44] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

righteously,  and  was  not  guilty  of  the 
crimes  which  have  been  charged  against 
her.  But,  as  a  scientific  man,  devoted  to 
the  search  for  truth  no  matter  where  it 
leads  you,  you  would  not  want  to  deceive 
yourself  with  such  a  comforting  assurance 
if  it  were  founded  on  false  premises.  If, 
therefore,  you  really  want  to  know  the  con- 
ditions under  which  American  opinion  of 
Germany's  conduct  has  been  formed,  I  will 
endeavour  to  describe  them  with  the  same 
calmness  and  careful  attention  to  accuracy 
which  I  earnestly  endeavour  to  observe  in 
my  scientific  investigations.  In  discussing 
this  vitally  important  matter,  I  will  first 
endeavour  to  picture  the  American  opinion 
of  Germany  and  the  Germans  before  the 
war,  since  this  was  the  background  upon 
which  later  opinions  were  formed.  I  will 
then  explain  the  sources  of  information 
which  were  open  to  Americans  after  the 
war  began ;  and  will  next  describe  how  this 
information  produced  an  American  opinion 
unfavourable  to  Germany,  as  observed  by 
one  who  has  read  widely  and  watched  the 
trend  of  his  country's  thought  with  keen  in- 
[45] 


My  German  Correspondence 

terest.  If  this  analysis  is  successful  in  con- 
vincing you  that  American  opinion  does  not 
rest  on  English  lies,  is  not  the  result  of  a 
venal  press  controlled  by  British  gold,  but 
has  a  far  more  substantial  foundation,  then 
my  letter  will  not  have  been  written  in  vain. 
If  you  are  not  convinced,  but  prefer  to  re- 
tain the  comforting  belief  that  if  America 
only  knew  the  truth  it  would  applaud  Ger- 
many's actions,  then  I  shall,  at  least,  have 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I  earnestly 
endeavoured,  in  good  faith,  to  return  the 
courtesy  which  you  showed  me  when  you 
wrote  so  fully,  by  telling  you  with  equal 
fulness  the  truth  as  I  see  it. 

First,  then,  let  me  picture  the  background 
of  public  opinion  toward  Germany  and  the 
Germans  as  I  saw  it  before  the  war  began. 
Inasmuch  as  one's  vision  may  be  affected  fa- 
vourably or  unfavourably  by  his  personal 
experiences,  it  is  only  fair  that  I  state  briefly 
my  own  experiences  with  people  of  German 
birth  or  parentage.  One  of  my  earliest  rec- 
ollections is  of  a  German  maid  in  our  house- 
hold who  taught  me  to  make  my  wants 
[46] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

known  in  the  German  language,  and  also 
taught  me  to  love  her  as  I  did  members  of 
my  own  family.  In  college,  one  of  my  twp 
favourite  professors  and  one  of  my  college 
chums  were  of  German  parentage.  Both 
these  men  are  still  valued  friends,  and  both 
believe  in  the  righteousness  of  Germany's 
cause.  I  have  spent  parts  of  three  sum- 
mers in  Germany,  and  have  many  German 
friends,  both  in  America  and  in  Europe. 
The  two  Europeans  in  my  special  field  of 
science  for  whom  I  have  the  greatest  per- 
sonal affection  are  German  professors  in 
Berlin  and  Leipzig  respectively.  I  have 
more  personal  friends  in  the  German  army 
than  in  the  Allied  armies.  My  sister  is 
married  to  a  professor  of  German  descent 
and  German  sympathies.  Surely,  therefore, 
if  personal  relationships  prejudice  me  at 
all,  they  should  prejudice  me  in  favour  of 
Germans  and  things  German. 

In  my  opinion,  the  American  estimate  of 
Germany  and  her  citizens  prior  to  the  war 
was,  in  general,  most  favourable.  Certainly 
America  looked  with  admiration  upon  the 
remarkable  advance  achieved  by  Germany 
[47] 


My  German  Correspondence 

in  the  short  space  of  forty  years.  To  your 
universities  we  have  always  acknowledged 
a  great  debt.  We  have  profited  much  by 
your  advances  in  economic  lines  and  ad- 
mired the  combination  of  scientific  research 
and  business  which  made  your  countrymen 
efficient  in  many  lines.  The  large  number 
of  your  people  who  have  emigrated  to 
America  have,  in  the  main,  made  good  citi- 
zens, and  we  have  welcomed  them  as  among 
the  best  of  the  foreigners  who  flock  to  our 
shores.  German  music  and  German  musi- 
cians find  nowhere  a  more  cordial  welcome 
than  here  where  admiration  for  their 
achievements  is  unstinted.  Nor  have  we 
forgotten  the  heroic  services  of  the  many 
Germans  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  de- 
fence of  our  flag,  that  the  Union  might  live. 
The  Germans'  love  of  honour  and  family 
has  touched  the  American  heart  in  a  ten- 
der spot,  and  many  of  my  acquaintances 
admit  that  with  no  other  foreigners  do  they 
establish  such  intimate  and  affectionate  re- 
lations as  with  their  German  friends. 

This  admiration  and  friendship  has  not 
blinded  us  to  certain  defects  in  the  German 
[48] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

character,  any  more  than  has  your  friend- 
ship for  Americans  closed  your  eyes  to  our 
defects.  The  bad  manners  of  Germans  are 
proverbial,  not  only  among  Americans,  but 
all  over  the  world;  so  much  so  that  certain 
German  writers,  admitting  that  Germans  as 
a  nation  are  ill-mannered,  have  sought  to 
find  in  this  fact  an  explanation  for  the 
world-wide  antagonism  toward  Germany's 
policy  in  the  war.  I  do  not  believe,  how- 
ever, that,  so  far  as  American  sentiment  is 
concerned,  there  is  any  considerable  element 
of  truth  in  this  explanation.  It  is  true  that 
we  do  not  like  the  lack  of  respect  accorded 
to  women  by  the  average  German ;  that  the 
position  of  woman  in  Germany  seems  to  us 
anomalous  in  a  nation  claiming  a  superior 
type  of  civilisation ;  that  the  bumptious  atti- 
tude of  the  German  "intellectual"  amuses  or 
disgusts  us;  and  that  the  insolence  of  your 
young  officers  who  elbow  us  off  the  side- 
walks in  your  cities  makes  us  long  to  meet 
those  individuals  again  outside  the  boun- 
daries of  Germany,  where  no  military 
Government,  jealous  of  their  "honour," 
could  protect  them  from  the  thrashing  they 
[49] 


My  German  Correspondence 

deserve.  It  is  also  true  that,  at  international 
congresses,  excursions  and  banquets,  at- 
tended by  both  men  and  women  representa- 
tives of  all  nations,  the  Germans  have 
gained  an  unenviable  reputation  for  bad 
manners  because  they  have  pushed  them- 
selves into  the  best  places,  crowded  into  the 
trains  ahead  of  the  women,  and  generally  ig- 
nored the  courtesies  due  to  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen associated  with  them.  But,  in  spite 
of  our  full  recognition  of  this  undesirable 
national  trait,  I  doubt  whether  any  great 
number  of  Americans  have  permitted  a  dis- 
like of  German  manners  to  affect  their  opin- 
ion as  to  German  morals  in  the  conduct  of 
war,  though  some  do  hold  that  lack  of  good 
manners  is  a  characteristic  mark  of  inferior 
civilisation.  On  the  whole,  we  have  been 
inclined  to  be  tolerant  of  German  rudeness, 
regarding  it  as  in  part  due  to  the  rapid  ma- 
terial development  of  a  young  nation,  and 
possibly  as,  in  part,  the  result  of  over-ag- 
gressiveness fostered  by  a  military  training. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say,  also,  that  our  admira- 
tion of  Germany's  achievements  in  art,  liter- 
ature, and  science  never  led  us  so  far  as  to 
[50] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

accept  the  claim  of  superiority  in  these  lines 
advanced  by  many  Germans  on  behalf  of 
their  country.  The  insistence  with  which 
this  claim  has  been  reiterated  and  pro- 
claimed abroad  by  Germans,  often  with 
more  of  patriotism  than  of  good  taste,  may 
have  led  a  part  of  the  public  to  believe  it. 
But  the  more  intelligent  and  thoughtful 
portion  of  the  people,  accustomed  to  ana- 
lyse such  claims  by  careful  comparison  with 
the  products  of  non-Teutonic  civilisation, 
has  been  unable  to  find  any  adequate  basis 
for  the  assumed  superiority.  Indeed,  while 
intelligent  and  fair-minded  Americans  are 
not  slow  to  recognise  Germany's  great  con- 
tributions to  the  world's  art,  literature,  and 
science,  they  believe  that,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  music,  greater  contributions 
have  been  made  in  these  lines  by  France, 
England,  and  other  nations.  In  the  realm 
of  invention,  we  fully  appreciate  the  skill 
and  resourcefulness  manifested  by  the  Ger- 
man people  in  adapting  new  discoveries  to 
their  own  needs;  but  we  cannot  deny  the 
fact  that  most  of  the  discoveries  which  have 
played  so  vital  a  part  in  the  development  of 
[51] 


My  German  Correspondence 

modern  civilisation  have  been  made,  not  in 
Germany,  but  in  other  countries. 

In  regard  to  municipal  government  and 
various  forms  of  social  legislation,  we  have 
long  recognised  the  high  position  held  by 
your  nation.  But  in  the  more  vital  matter 
of  the  relation  of  the  individual  to  the  su- 
preme governing  power,  we  have  always 
held,  and  still  believe,  that  Germany  is 
sadly  reactionary.  For  half  a  century  your 
professors,  in  the  employ  of  an  educational 
system  controlled  by  a  bureaucratic  Govern- 
ment, have  taught  what  we  condemn  as  a 
false  philosophy  of  government.  Your  his- 
tories, your  books  on  philosophy,  your 
whole  literature,  glorify  the  State;  and  you 
have  accepted  the  dangerous  doctrine  that 
the  individual  exists  to  serve  the  State,  for- 
getting that  the  State  is  not  the  mystical, 
divine  thing  you  picture  it,  but  a  govern- 
ment carried  on  by  human  beings  like  your- 
selves, most  of  them  reasonably  upright,  but 
some  incompetent  and  others  deliberately 
bad,  just  like  any  other  human  government. 
We  believe  that  the  only  excuse  for  the  ex- 
istence of  the  State  is  to  serve  the  individual, 
[52] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

to  create  conditions  which  will  insure  the 
greatest  liberty  and  highest  possible  de- 
velopment to  the  individual  citizen.  It  has 
never  seemed  to  us  creditable  to  the  German 
intellect  that  it  could  be  satisfied  with  a 
theory  of  government  outgrown  by  most 
other  civilised  nations.  That  you  should 
confuse  efficiency  with  freedom  has  always 
seemed  to  us  a  tragic  mistake,  and  never  so 
tragic  as  now,  when  a  small  coterie  of  hu- 
man beings,  subject  to  the  same  mistakes 
and  sins  as  other  human  beings,  can  hurl 
you  into  a  terrible  war  before  you  know 
what  has  happened,  clap  on  a  rigid  censor-: 
ship  to  keep  out  any  news  they  do  not  want 
you  to  learn,  then  publish  a  white  book 
which  pretends  to  explain  the  causes  of  the 
war,  but  omits  documents  of  the  most  vital 
importance,  thereby  causing  the  people  of  a 
confiding  nation  to  drench  the  earth  with 
their  life-blood  in  the  fond  illusion  that  the 
war  was  forced  upon  them,  and  that  they 
are  fighting  for  a  noble  cause.  Most  pitiful 
is  the  sad  comment  of  an  intelligent  German 
woman  in  a  letter  recently  received  in  this 
country:  "We,  of  course,  only  see  such 
[53] 


My  German  Correspondence 

things  as  the  Government  thinks  best.  We 
were  told  that  this  war  was  purely  a  de- 
fensive one,  forced  upon  us.  I  begin  to  be- 
lieve this  may  not  be  true,  but  hope  for  a 
favourable  ending." 

Certainly  in  what  you  wrote  to  me  you 
were  thoroughly  sincere  and  honest;  yet 
your  letter  was  full  of  untrue  statements 
because  you  were  dependent  for  your  in- 
formation upon  a  Government-controlled 
press  which  has  misled  you  for  military  and 
political  reasons.  How  can  a  nation  know 
the  truth,  think  clearly,  and  act  righteously 
when  a  few  men,  called  the  "State,"  can 
commit  you  to  the  most  serious  enterprise 
in  your  history  without  your  previous 
knowledge  or  consent,  and  can  then  keep 
you  in  ignorance  of  vitally  important  docu- 
ments and  activities  in  order  to  insure  your 
full  support  of  their  perilous  undertaking? 
Such  is  the  thought  which  has  always  led 
America  to  denounce  as  false  the  old  theory 
of  "divine  right  of  kings,"  long  imposed 
upon  the  German  people  in  the  more  subtle 
and,  therefore,  more  dangerous  form  of 
"the  divine  right  of  the  State."  Our  con- 
[54] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

viction  that  such  a  government  as  yours  is 
reactionary  and  incompatible  with  true  lib- 
erty, and  that  it  stunts  and  warps  the  intel- 
lects of  its  citizens,  has  been  amply  con- 
firmed by  extended  observation  in  your 
country,  and  more  particularly  by  the  un- 
answerable fact  that  millions  of  your  best 
blood,  including  distinguished  men  of  in- 
telligence and  wealth,  have  forsaken  Ger- 
many to  seek  true  liberty  of  intellect  and 
action  in  America,  renouncing  allegiance  to 
the  Fatherland  to  become  citizens  here. 
Some  of  them  still  love  the  scenes  of  their 
childhood,  but  few  of  them  would  be  will- 
ing to  return  to  a  life  under  such  a  Govern- 
ment as  Germany  possesses. 

To  summarise  what  I  said  above:  Ameri- 
cans, prior  to  the  war,  admired  the  remark- 
able advances  made  by  Germany  in  recent 
years  in  economic  and  commercial  lines; 
held  in  high  regard  your  universities  and 
many  of  your  university  professors;  loved 
your  music,  and  felt  most  cordial  toward 
the  millions  of  Germans  who  came  to  live 
among  us  and  share  the  benefits  of  our  free 
institutions.  The  prevalence  of  bad  man- 
[55] 


My  German  Correspondence 

ners  among  Germans  we  regretted,  but 
made  allowance  for  this  defect;  and  we  did 
not  fail  to  recognise  that  some  Germans  are 
fine  gentlemen  of  the  most  perfect  culture, 
while  most  of  them  have  traits  of  character 
which  we  admired. 

We  recognised  the  immense  value  of 
Germany's  contributions  to  art,  literature, 
and  science,  but  did  not  consider  Germany's 
contributions  in  these  lines  as  equal  to  those 
of  other  nations.  We  never  have  regarded 
German  culture  as  superior,  but  rather  as 
inferior,  to  that  of  certain  other  countries ; 
and  the  Germans'  loud  claims  to  superiority 
have  seemed  to  us  egotistical  and  the  result 
of  a  weak  point  in  the  German  character. 
For  your  form  of  government  and  the  phi- 
losophy of  history  taught  by  your  university 
professors  we  could  never  have  much  ad- 
miration or  respect.  Both  seemed  to  us 
unworthy  of  an  intelligent,  civilised  people, 
and  sure  to  lead  to  disaster.  Your  military 
preparations,  evident  to  every  observant 
visitor,  have  long  caused  us  to  distrust  your 
Government  and  to  consider  your  country 
a  menace  to  the  world's  peace.  In  a  word, 
[56] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

we  admired  and  loved  your  people,  al- 
though we  considered  them  neither  perfect 
nor  even  superior  to  other  people;  but  we 
disapproved  and  distrusted  your  reactionary 
military  Government. 

Such  was  our  attitude  when  the  war  burst 
upon  the  world.  Since  that  time  what  op- 
portunities have  the  American  people  had 
to  form  an  intelligent  opinion  as  to  who 
was  wrong  and  who  was  right?  What 
sources  of  information  have  been  open  to 
us,  what  means  of  getting  at  the  facts? 
Have  we  been  drowned  in  English  lies,  as 
several  of  your  professors  have  written  me 
is  the  case?  Have  we  relied  on  one  corrupt 
party)  newspaper,  as  you  intimate  is  our 
habit?  Have  we  been  dependent  on  a  press 
bought  up  with  English  gold,  as  is  continu- 
ally asserted  by  the  German  press? 

In  the  first  place,  we  have  relied  in  part 
upon  our  previous  knowledge  of  the  Ger- 
man Government  and  the  German  people. 
The  hundreds  of  Americans  who  have  stud- 
ied in  your  universities,  the  thousands  who 
have  visited  your  country,  and  the  millions 
[57] 


My  German  Correspondence 

who  have  come  into  close  contact  with  Ger- 
mans in  this  country,  all  have  a  pretty  good 
idea  of  the  German  type  of  mind,  German 
standards  of  national  morality,  German  vir- 
tues and  defects.  Americans  have,  of 
course,  used  this  information  in  reaching 
a  conclusion  as  to  the  truth  or  falsehood  of 
charges  against  Germany.  I  talked  with 
some  of  our  American  professors  just  as 
they  landed  on  the  pier  in  New  York  fresh 
from  a  summer  in  Germany  which  was  cut 
short  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  They 
came  direct  from  your  country  and  were  as 
fully  informed  of  the  German  points  of 
view  right  up  to  the  declaration  of  war  as 
were  any  of  your  citizens.  Many  Ameri- 
cans who  have  spent  months  and  even  years 
on  German  soil,  and  who  know  the  country 
and  the  people  intimately,  have  made  us 
well  acquainted  with  German  standards 
and  German  methods  of  thinking. 

It  is  true  that  since  the  war  began  much 
of  our  news  has  come  through  cables  con- 
trolled by  the  Allies;  but  Americans  have 
too  much  common  sense  to  accept  such  re- 
ports as  final.  News  from  biassed  sources 
[58] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

is  always  accepted  with  reservation,  and  not 
fully  believed  unless  confirmed  from  inde- 
pendent sources.  Furthermore,  Americans 
have  never  lacked  for  first-hand  information 
from  Germany.  Direct  wireless  reports 
from  your  country  to  several  stations  in 
America  have  given  us  a  valuable  check  on 
cable  reports.  German  papers  come  to  us 
regularly,  and  are  continually  and  exten- 
sively quoted.  Germany  has  sent  special 
agents  to  this  country  to  represent  her  side  ( 
of  every  issue.  The  speeches  and  writings 
of  these  agents  have  been  published  repeat- 
edly and  at  length  in  almost  every  paper  in 
our  country  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific. American  correspondents  in  Ger- 
many and  in  the  war-zone  have  told  as  much 
as  your  censors  would  permit  concerning 
what  they  saw  of  Germany  and  Germany's 
army.  Many  Americans  have  returned 
from  Germany  during  the  war,  and  have  ; 
published  their  experiences  and  impres- 
sions. Some  of  them  have  seen  your  army 
at  work,  suffered  from  its  inhumanity,  and 
been  subjected  to  outrages  and  indignities 
by  the  civil  officials  of  your  Government. 
[59]  ' 


My  German  Correspondence 

Others  were  dined  and  honoured  as  notable 
guests  and  given  unusual  opportunities  for 
seeing  as  much  as  your  officials  wanted  them 
to  see.  Both  have  offered  valuable  first- 
hand testimony  as  to  the  behaviour  of  the 
German  nation  at  war.  Your  university 
professors  and  other  prominent  citizens  of 
your  country  have  written  us  circular  and 
private  letters  without  number,  presenting 
Germany's  arguments  in  every  conceivable 
form.  Your  Ambassador  and  other  officials 
of  your  Government  have  been  most  active 
in  keeping  first-hand  information  before 
the  American  public.  Thousands  of  your 
reservists,  unable  to  cross  the  sea  in  safety, 
remain  in  this  country  to  talk  and  write  in 
behalf  of  their  Fatherland. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  Germany's  cause 
has  been  most  vigorously  championed  by 
many  Germans  and  German-Americans 
long  resident  in  America.  Munsterberg 
and  others  have  published  numerous  arti- 
cles and  books  in  Germany's  favour.  Every 
possible  plea  to  justify  Germany's  position 
has  been  enthusiastically  spread  abroad  by 
the  German-American  press,  and  with  that 
[60] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

love  of  "fair  play"  which  is  a  widely-rec- 
ognised characteristic  of  Americans,  even 
those  papers  which  believe  Germany  re- 
sponsible for  the  war  and  its  worst  horrors, 
have  printed  volumes  of  material  from  pro- 
German  authors  in  order  that  the  whole 
truth  might  be  known  by  a  full  and  free 
discussion  of  both  sides  of  every  question. 
I  have  read  many  pro-German  articles  in 
the  New  York  Times,  the  New  York  Sun, 
the  Outlook,  and  other  papers  and  maga- 
zines opposed  to  German  policy — articles 
by  Munsterberg,  Kuno  Franke,  Von  Bern- 
storff,  Dernburg,  and  other  staunch  de- 
fenders of  Germany,  The  columns  of  our 
papers  are  freely  open  to  every  authoritative 
champion  of  the  German  cause,  no  matter 
what  the  editorial  policy  of  the  papers  may 
be.  Never  was  fuller  and  freer  oppor- 
tunity for  defence  accorded  to  anyone  than 
has  been  given  to  the  friends  of  Germany 
to  present  in  print  to  the  American  public 
every  possible  justification  for  Germany's 
acts.  Only  the  grossest  ignorance  of  the 
actual  facts  could  ever  lead  anyone  to  make 
the  charge  in  good  faith  that  the  truth  about 
[61] 


My  German  Correspondence 

Germany  has  been  concealed  from  Ameri- 
cans. Your  letter  did  not  contain  a  single 
statement  or  argument  that  has  not  been 
printed  over  and  over  again  in  papers  from 
one  end  of  America  to  the  other  by  various 
defenders  of  the  German  cause.  Germany's 
official  documents  issued  in  defence  of  her 
position  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  her 
charges  of  atrocities  against  her  enemies 
and  her  supposed  proofs  of  the  falsity  of 
atrocity  charges  against  the  Germans,  have 
all  been  published  fully  and  widely,  al- 
though you  seem  not  to  be  aware  of  this 
fact. 

Still  further,  in  addition  to  the  legitimate 
publicity  in  favour  of  Germany  related 
above,  there  has  been  forced  upon  the 
American  public  the  most  stupendous 
propaganda  which  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed. Millions  of  dollars  have  been  spent 
by  German  agents  in  a  colossal  endeavour 
to  shape  public  opinion.  America  has  been 
literally  deluged  with  leaflets,  pamphlets, 
books,  articles,  and  advertisements,  subsi- 
dised by  these  propagandists.  Money  has 
been  lavishly  spent  in  every  form  of  appeal 
[62] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

which  might  be  expected  to  turn  American 
sentiment  against  the  Allies  and  in  favour 
of  the  Teutons.  Contributions  have  been 
widely  solicited  to  finance  this  propaganda, 
and  one  of  my  colleagues  in  Columbia  is 
among  those  bearing  German  names  who, 
in  published  letters,  have  refused  to  sup- 
port this  moneyed  campaign  engineered  by 
German  agents.  Strikes  have  been  organ- 
ised in  our  factories,  newspapers  have  been 
subsidised,  labour  orators  have  been  em- 
ployed to  incite  trouble,  all  with  gold  sup- 
plied from  Teutonic  sources.  Ambassador 
Dumba  was  forced  to  leave  this  country  be- 
cause of  the  capture  of  secret  letters  reveal- 
ing plots  to  organise  strikes  in  our  munitions  ) 
factories,  to  buy  up  orators  to  incite  work- 
men to  discontent,  and  to  pay  newspapers 
for  advancing  the  German  propaganda. 
For  all  of  this  the  Austrian  Government 
was  to  supply  the  necessary  funds.  German 
spies  now  in  our  prisons  have  admitted  that 
they  were  sent  here  by  high  German  officials 
and  provided  with  ample  supplies  of  money 
to  engage  in  secret  plots  against  our  neu- 
trality with  the  object  of  stopping  muni- 
[63] 


My  German  Correspondence 

tion  shipments*  German  officials  in  this 
country  have  admitted  handling  millions 
of  dollars  in  illegal  operations  carried  on  in 
defiance  of  our  laws  and  in  insolent  disre- 
gard of  international  diplomatic  courtesy. 
Our  courts  have  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
1 8  months'  penal  servitude  three  high  Ger- 
man officials  of  the  Hamburg-American 
Steamship  Line  for  a  conspiracy  to  help 
German  warships  in  defiance  of  our  laws. 
These  officials  admitted  spending  nearly 
two  million  dollars  of  German  gold  in  this 
illegal  work.  Our  detectives  estimate  that 
German  authorities  have  spent  twenty-seven 
million  dollars  in  America  alone  to  influ- 
ence us  against  the  Allies,  to  stir  up  trouble 
against  us  in  labour  circles,  and  to  foment 
a  revolution  in  Mexico  to  our  embarrass- 
ment. Our  Government  asked  that  the 
German  Military  and  Naval  Attaches  be 
removed  from  this  country  because  of  their 
insolent  violations  of  our  neutrality,  by  ac- 
tivities in  connection  with  which  they  han- 
dled immense  sums  of  German  gold  for  the 
propaganda  to  influence  us  against  England 
and  in  favour  of  Germany. 
[64]  ' 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

For  every  pamphlet,  paper,  or  article  sent 
to  me  by  English,  French,  Russian,  and 
Italian  organisations  I  get  several  dozen 
from  German  organisations.  I  get  but  a 
few  circulars  a  month  from  Allied  coun- 
tries. Not  a  week  passes  that  I  do  not  re- 
ceive many  from  German  sources.*  Amer- 
ica has  been  flooded  with  German  propa- 
gandist literature;  very  little  ever  comes 
from  other  countries.  Full-page  advertise- 
ments, paid  by  German  agents,  have  ap- 
peared repeatedly  in  American  papers, 
urging  the  merits  of  Germany's  cause.  I 
have  never  seen  one  on  behalf  of  the  Allies. 
All  over  New  York  City,  before  I  left  for 
my  summer  vacation,  were  giant  posters  on 
the  billboards,  put  there  by  a  pro-German 
society,  urging  the  people  to  ask  President 
Wilson  to  stop  the  exportation  of  arms  to 
Germany's  enemies.  I  have  never  seen  one 
poster  of  any  kind  put  up  by  friends  of  the 
Allies.  Indeed,  America  has  been  so  del- 
uged with  German  propaganda  and  Ger- 

*  When  this  was  written  German  mail  was  still  com- 
ing freely  through  neutral  countries,  and  the  British 
publicity  campaign  had  scarcely  begun. 
[65] 


My  German  Correspondence 

man-paid  advertisements,  and  requests  for 
money  to  carry  on  the  propaganda  in  favour 
of  Germany,  that  the  whole  nation  has  be- 
come heartily  sick  of  it,  and  has  urged  the 
Government  to  expel  from  the  country 
some  of  your  agents  who  have  been  particu- 
larly offensive  in  carrying  on  such  a  propa- 
ganda among  our  citizens.  German  gold, 
not  English  gold,  has  been  lavishly  used  to 
influence  American  opinion.  Our  Govern- 
ment has  had  to  employ  a  special  detective 
force  to  discover  and  destroy  the  many  plots 
in  which  German  and  Austrian  gold  has 
been  lavishly  used  to  influence  opinion  and 
action  in  America;  and  from  other  neutral 
countries  comes  abundant  evidence  that  the 
same  stupendous  propaganda,  to  turn  opin- 
ion and  action  in  favour  of  Germany,  has 
been  carried  on  everywhere,  with  an  au- 
dacity and  utter  disregard  of  cost  which  has 
astonished  the  world.  In  the  face  of  such 
facts  as  these  the  German  outcry  against 
"English  gold"  has  seemed  wholly  insin- 
cere, and  little  less  than  ridiculous.* 

*  Recent  revelations  by  the  State  Department  amply 
confirm  the  prodigal  use  of  German  gold  to  influence 
[66] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

Finally,  American  opinion  has  been 
based  more  than  all  else  on  Germany's  offi- 
cial communications,  directly  addressed  to 
our  Government,  on  certain  acts  which  Ger- 
many has  admitted,  and  on  the  nature  of  the 
defence  and  excuses  offered  by  the  German 
Government  in  palliation  of  those  acts. 
You  must  not  forget  that  the  many  lengthy 
notes  addressed  by  your  Government  to 
Americans  have  been  published  in  full  in 
American  papers.  The  outcry  against  Eng- 
lish gold,  against  cable  dispatches  altered 
by  the  English,  and  against  corrupt  news- 
paper publishers  cannot  be  raised  in  con- 
nection with  diplomatic  correspondence 
transmitted  direct  to  your  Ambassador  here. 
This  authentic,  official  correspondence  has 
given  us  an  excellent  measure  of  the  stand- 
American  and  foreign  opinion.  The  exposure  of  Am- 
bassador von  BernstorfFs  secret  cable  requesting 
authority  to  use  $50,000  "to  influence  Congress"  and 
of  his  handling  the  $1,700,000  fund  to  debauch  the 
French  press,  are  but  two  of  a  number  of  revelations 
proving  the  depths  of  infamy  to  which  the  highest  offi- 
cials of  the  German  Government  descended,  at  the 
very  moment  they  were  protesting  their  innocence  and 
crying  out  against  the  "iniquity"  of  British  gold. 
[67] 


My  German  Correspondence 

i 

ards  of  morality  and  humanity  which  actu- 
ate the  present  German  Government.  Our 
opinion  of  Germany  has  been  profoundly 
influenced  by  these  official  documents. 

Germany  has  committed  certain  acts 
which  are  freely  admitted  by  your  Govern- 
ment. A  nation,  like  a  man,  is  judged  by 
its  deeds.  After  all  excuses  and  explana- 
tions are  made,  the  deeds  remain.  Ameri- 
cans have  read  the  excuses  and  the  explana- 
tions fully  and  repeatedly;  and  with  these 
excuses  and  explanations  in  mind  have 
formed  an  opinion  of  the  power  responsible 
for  the  deeds.  No  English  gold,  no  ma- 
nipulated cable  dispatches  can  have  had 
anything  to  do  with  that  opinion.  The 
deeds  themselves  have  been  the  supreme 
force  in  shaping  American  opinion  of  Ger- 
many. Germany  has  defended  the  many 
acts  which  have  brought  down  upon  her  the 
contempt  and  opprobrium  of  the  entire 
civilised  world.  As  you  well  know,  one  of 
the  best  tests  of  a  man's  morals  is  the  kind 
of  a  defence  he  offers  for  his  acts.  Ameri- 
cans have  read  most  carefully  the  many  de- 
fences offered  by  your  Chancellor,  your 
[68] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  your  Under- 
secretary of  Foreign  Affairs,  your  official 
spokesmen  sent  to  this  country,  and  your 
Ambassador  here;  and  in  the  notes  sent  offi- 
cially and  directly  to  our  Government  by 
your  Government.  We  have  formed  an 
opinion  of  the  moral  standards  of  the 
Government  which  makes  and  approves  of 
such  defences. 

I  believe  you  must,  in  sincerity  and  frank- 
ness, admit  that  the  American  public  has 
had  many  sources  of  information  open  to  it 
in  forming  its  opinions  about  Germany.  In- 
deed, with  a  free  press,  a  large  German 
population  absolutely  free  from  censorship 
or  restrictions  of  any  kind,  and  a  Govern- 
ment which  does  not  need  to  suppress  facts 
for  military  or  political  reasons,  we  are  in 
a  far  better  position  to  learn  the  whole  truth 
about  Germany  than  are  the  German  peo- 
ple themselves. 

Having    outlined    some    of    the    many 
sources  of  information  upon  which  Ameri- 
cans have  relied  in  forming  their  opinions 
of  Germany  and  her  actions  in  this  war,  I 
[69] 


My  German  Correspondence 

now  will  state  what  the  American  opinion 
is  in  regard  to  some  of  the  vital  issues  which 
have  been  raised.  In  doing  this,  I  will  not 
endeavour  to  explain  that  opinion,  to  criti- 
cise it,  nor  to  defend  it.  Neither  will  I  give 
you  my  personal  opinion  on  the  several 
points,  for  my  own  personal  opinion  is  of 
slight  consequence  when  we  are  discussing 
the  attitude  of  an  entire  nation.  If  you  de- 
sire, I  will  be  glad  to  tell  you,  on  some  other 
occasion,  just  how  far  my  own  opinions  co- 
incide with  the  collective  opinion  of  the 
country  at  large,  and  just  where  I  differ 
from  that  opinion.  My  object  at  present  is 
simply  to  interpret  American  opinion  to  you 
as  it  exists  to-day.  When  I  say  "American 
opinion,"  I  mean,  of  course,  the  opinion  of 
the  vast  majority  of  our  people.  A  signifi- 
cant proportion  of  the  German-born  popu- 
lation and  a  very  small  proportion  of  native 
Americans  (usually  those  married  to  Ger- 
mans or  otherwise  connected  with  Ger- 
many) disagree  with  the  opinions  cited. 
But  over  90  per  cent,  of  our  population  may 
safely  be  said  to  hold  the  views  described  as 
"American"  below. 

[70] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

In  the  first  place,  Americans,  in  general, 
make  a  distinction  between  the  German 
Government  and  the  German  people.  They 
realise  that  certain  features  of  the  Prussian- 
ised Government  have  never  appealed 
favourably  to  the  Bavarians,  the  Saxons, 
and  other  elements  of  the  German  popula- 
tion. I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  Americans 
believe  any  part  of  Germany  is  disloyal  to 
the  Government.  On  the  contrary,  they  be- 
lieve the  German  people  as  a  whole  are  \ 
supporting  the  Government  and  its  acts  with 
devotion,  and  that,  therefore,  the  German 
people  as  a  whole  are  responsible  for  what- 
ever acts  the  Government  commits.  But 
Americans  recognise  the  reality  of  Prussian 
leadership  in  the  policy  of  your  country. 
They  do  not  believe  the  German  people  ( 
wanted  the  war;  but  they  do  believe  the 
military  Government,  under  Prussian  con- 
trol, wanted  the  war,  planned  for  it  with 
infinite  skill  and  efficiency  for  many  years, 
and  brought  it  about  when  they  believed 
the  time  was  ripe. 

Americans  have  no  doubt  whatever  that 
the  insolent  ultimatum  to  Servia  was  deliv- 
[71] 


My  German  Correspondence 

ered  for  the  purpose  of  provoking  war,  and 
that  Austria  would  never  have  dared  send 
it  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  German 
Government  "assured  her  a  free  hand"  in 
advance,  as  has  been  officially  admitted  by 
your  Government.  The  fact  that  Austria 
refused  to  make  public  the  full  evidence  on 
which  she  based  her  accusations  against  the 
Servian  Government,  added  to  the  fact  that 
she  made  these  accusations  after  a  secret  in- 
vestigation in  which  the  defendant  had  no 
representation,  has  shocked  not  only  Amer- 
ica but  the  entire  world;  and  has  convinced 
the  world,  as  a  whole,  that  Austria  and  Ger- 
many were  more  guilty  of  wrongdoing  than 
was  Servia. 

Americans  have  studied  carefully  the  offi- 
cial documents  issued  by  the  different  Gov- 
ernments concerning  the  origin  of  the  war, 
and  have  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  all  the 
papers  which  each  has  published.  The  offi- 
cial papers  issued  by  England,  Germany,! 
France,  Austria,  and  the  other  Govern- 
ments have  been  printed  in  full  in  pamphlet 
form,  and  have  been  eagerly  studied  by  the 
whole  nation.  Edition  after  edition  has 
[72] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

been  exhausted  by  a  people  eagerly  seeking 
to  learn  the  truth.  In  Germany  there  has 
been  no  such  eagerness  to  learn  the  truth  by 
careful,  critical  study  of  the  official  sources 
of  information,  and  leading  Germans  have 
regretfully  admitted  that  too  many  of  the 
German  people  were  content  to  accept  their 
Government's  statements  as  the  truth,  with- 
out attempting  to  use  their  own  intelligence 
in  the  matter.  In  the  opinion  of  Americans 
the  official  documents,  and  especially  the 
admissions  made  by  your  Government  in 
its  attempted  defence,  prove  that  the  Ger- 
man Government  forced  the  war  in  order 
to  satisfy  the  ambitions  of  the  military  party 
which  has  long  been  in  control.  When  you 
have  a  chance  to  read  certain  documents 
which  your  Government  does  not  let  you 
read  now,  you  can  form  an  impartial  judg- 
ment as  to  whether  or  not  Americans  and 
the  other  neutral  peoples  have  been  unjust 
in  deciding  that  Germany  is  responsible  for 
the  war.  Until  that  time  you  will,  of  course, 
feel  that  the  judgment  of  the  world  does 
your  country  a  terrible  wrong.  The  Gov- 
ernment which  caused  the  war  is  not  going 
[73] 


My  German  Correspondence 

to  let  its  people  read  things  which  would 
shake  their  confidence,  and  cause  them  to 
weaken  in  their  support  of  the  war. 

If  Germany  really  exercised  a  moderat- 
ing influence  at  Vienna,  and  strove  to  avert 
the  war,  the  State  papers  exchanged  be- 
tween Berlin  and  Vienna  would  clearly 
prove  this,  if  published.  Germany  has 
every  reason  to  publish  those  papers  and 
prove  her  sincerity,  if  she  tried  to  prevent 
the  war.  On  the  other  hand,  both  Germany 
and  Austria  have  every  reason  to  keep  those 
papers  secret  if  they  were  jointly  planning 
the  war.  They  have  kept  the  papers  secret. 
Not  one  word  of  the  vital  correspondence 
between  the  two  Teutonic  capitals  has  ever 
been  made  public.  Even  your  own  people 
are  entirely  ignorant  as  to  what  exchanges 
really  took  place  in  the  critical  days  pre- 
ceding the  declarations  of  war.  You  only 
know,  and  the  world  only  knows,  that  Ger- 
many made  the  vague  general  assertion  that 
she  was  "exercising  a  moderating  influence 
at  Vienna."  You  can  hardly  expect  the 
world  to  believe  such  a  vague  generality 
when  the  documents  which  would  prove  its 
[74] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

truth  or  falsity  are  carefully  suppressed. 
Why  are  they  suppressed?  Americans,  in 
common  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  are  con- 
vinced that  your  Government  does  not  dare 
publish  them  because  it  would  prove  the 
guilt  of  Germany  more  conclusively  than 
do  the  admissions  contained  in  papers  al- 
ready made  public. 

It  is  the  practically  universal  opinion,  not 
only  in  America,  but  in  other  neutral  coun- 
tries as  well,  that  the  repeated  excuses  and 
shifty  evasions  by  which  Berlin  rejected 
every  plan  for  mediation,  arbitration,  or 
any  other  programme  which  would  tend  to- 
ward a  peaceful  solution  of  the  crisis,  com- 
bined with  Berlin's  acknowledgment  that 
"a  free  hand  was  assured"  to  Austria,  and 
the  further  fact  that  all  correspondence  be- 
tween Berlin  and  Vienna  is  carefully  sup- 
pressed, are  amply  sufficient  to  convince  any 
fair-minded,  unprejudiced  man  that  the 
Berlin  Government  is  primarily  responsible 
for  the  war.  The  fact  that  Germany  has 
for  years  published  a  voluminous  war  liter- 
ature, has  taught  her  people  to  think  and 
live  in  terms  of  war,  and  was  fully  prepared 
[75] 


My  German  Correspondence 

with  enormous  reserves  of  materials  when 
war  came;  whereas  the  Allied  countries 
were  notoriously  unprepared  and  in  no  con- 
dition to  ward  off  the  first  blows  of  a  sur- 
prise attack,  to  say  nothing  of  fighting  an 
offensive  campaign,  is  generally  considered 
enough  to  create  a  strong  presumption  that 
Germany  and  not  the  Allies  wanted  war. 
The  official  correspondence  of  the  ante-bel- 
lum days  is  full  of  suggestions  for  arbitra- 
tion, mediation,  and  other  plans  to  preserve 
the  peace,  coming  from  the  Allied  coun- 
tries. Americans  have  searched  in  vain  for 
a  single  plan  for  a  peaceful  solution  coming 
from  Germany.  On  the  contrary,  your  own 
version  of  the  negotiations  shows  only  a  per- 
sistent rejection  by  Berlin  of  every  peace 
plan,  and  a  dogged  determination  to  sup- 
port Vienna  in  her  assault  on  Servia — an 
assault  which,  following  the  robbery  of  Bos- 
nia and  Herzegovina  by  Austria  under  Ger- 
many's protection,  could  not  be  endured  by 
a  civilised  world,  and  was,  therefore,  cer- 
tain to  cause  war. 

When  Servia,  urged  by  the  Allies  to  yield 
as  much  as  possible  in  order  to  prevent  war, 
[76] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

acceded  to  eight  out  of  ten  of  Austria's  hu- 
miliating demands  and  agreed  to  arbitrate 
the  two  involving  her  national  sovereignty, 
the  world  saw  that  the  Allied  countries  did 
not  want  war,  and  were  willing  to  suffer 
great  humiliation  for  the  sake  of  preventing 
it.  Americans  do  not  consider  that  any  fair- 
minded  man  possessed  of  ordinary  common- 
sense  can  honestly  believe  that  nations  seek- 
ing to  provoke  war  with  Germany  would 
have  urged  their  protege  to  make  a  humili- 
ating surrender  to  insolent  and  unjust  de- 
mands. If  there  were  any  truth  in  the  as- 
sertion that  the  Allies  were  trying  to  force 
war  on  Germany,  they  would  have  advised 
Servia  to  resist,  not  to  yield.  When  Austria, 
backed  by  Germany,  declared  war  on  Ser- 
via, despite  Servians  abject  and  complete 
surrender  on  eight  points  and  willingness  to 
arbitrate  the  other  two,  there  no  longer  ex- 
isted outside  of  Germany  and  Austria  the 
slightest  doubt  that  Germany  was  forcing 
the  war  to  achieve  the  aggrandisement 
which  has  been  taught  for  years  in  your 
country  as  the  natural  destiny  of  Germany. 
Germany's  guilt  in  forcing  the  war  is 
[77] 


My  German  Correspondence 

recognised  not  only  by  Americans  and  other 
neutral  peoples,  but  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  Germans  who  live  in  neutral  coun- 
tries and  thus  have  a  chance  to  learn  more 
of  the  truth  than  is  possible  in  the  belliger- 
ent countries.  Germans  who  were  in  Ger- 
many when  the  war  broke  out,  but  who  have 
since  come  to  America,  have  told  me  per- 
sonally that,  after  learning  the  whole  truth, 
they  can  no  longer  doubt  Germany's  respon- 
sibility for  the  catastrophe.  Germans  who 
have  left  here  to  go  back  and  fight  for  the 
Fatherland  admitted  to  me  in  private  con- 
versation that  they  knew  Germany  forced 
the  war,  and  that  the  Kaiser  and  the  Prus- 
sian military  party  were  alone  to  blame.  I 
know  Germans  who  are  liberally  support- 
ing the  Allied  cause  because  they  believe 
the  defeat  of  Prussianism  is  essential  to  a 
civilised  Germany.  Even  your  rigid  cen- 
sorship has  not  prevented  our  receipt  of  oc- 
casional letters  from  Germans,  in  which 
they  admit  the  uncertainty  of  Germany's 
claim  that  the  Allies  forced  the  war.  A 
considerable  element  of  independent  think- 
ers in  Germany  have  had  the  wisdom  to 
[78] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

realise  the  perfectly  obvious  truth  that  no 
Government  is  willing  to  admit  responsi- 
bility for  the  war,  and  that  therefore  your 
Government's  assertion  that  it  did  not  start 
the  present  conflagration  can  carry  no 
weight  until  the  whole  truth  is  revealed  to 
the  German  people,  and  they  are  thus  given 
the  opportunity  to  form  an  intelligent  judg- 
ment, like  men,  instead  of  being  forced  to 
believe  mere  assertions  and  partial  evidence, 
like  children.  To-day  you  believe  in  the 
innocence  of  the  Prussian  military  power; 
but  few  people  in  the  rest  of  the  world 
doubt  its  guilt.  To-morrow,  when  the  war 
is  over,  and  you  can  get  an  outside  view  of 
the  whole  question,  you  will  have  the  chance 
to  form  an  intelligent  judgment  as  to  what 
nation  History  will  forever  record  as  the 
one  guilty  of  this  fearful  crime  against  hu- 
manity. 

The  violation  of  Belgian  neutrality 
shocked  Americans  as  it  did  the  rest  of  the 
civilised  world,  and  turned  the  tide  of  senti- 
ment against  Germany  more  strongly  than 
ever.  Americans  are  practically  unani- 
mous in  regarding  the  belated  excuses  of 
[79] 


My  German  Correspondence 

your  Government,  to  the  effect  that  Belgian 
neutrality  was  already  violated  by  the  Al- 
lies, as  mere  clumsy  subterfuges,  trumped  up 
to  stem  the  terrible  tide  of  universal  con- 
demnation heaped  upon  Germany  for  this 
crime  against  an  innocent  people.  Nothing 
that  any  German  can  ever  say  or  write  will 
efface  from  the  memory  of  the  world  the 
uncontrovertible  fact  that  your  Chancellor 
officially  admitted  your  country's  guilt  in 
this  matter.  "The  wrong — I  speak  openly, 
gentlemen — the  wrong  we  have  done  Bel- 
gium will  be  righted  when  our  military  ends 
are  accomplished."  In  these  words  your 
Chancellor  blundered  out  a  truth  which  has 
for  ever  silenced  all  your  apologists  for  the 
crime.*  American  opinion  considers  it  dis- 
creditable and  futile  to  invent  charges 
against  French  soldiers  on  Belgian  soil  and 
French  aviators  flying  over  Belgian  terri- 
tory; and  to  try  to  make  out  a  case  in  de- 

*  To  the  Chancellor's  confession  must  now  be  added 
that  of  the  Kaiser,  who  in  a  cable  to  President  Wilson, 
recently  made  public  by  Ex-Ambassador  Gerard,  ad- 
mitted that  Belgium  was  invaded  "for  strategic  rea- 
sons/1 

[80] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

fence  of  Germany  on  the  basis  of  docu- 
ments discovered  in  Belgium — when  your 
Chancellor  has  officially  admitted  Ger- 
many's guilt.  Americans  have  no  doubt 
that  on  the  basis  of  the  well-known  facts  of 
the  case,  supplemented  by  your  Chancel- 
lor's admission  of  guilt,  History  will  for- 
ever record  Germany's  brutal  disregard  of 
her  treaty  obligations  and  her  murderous 
assault  on  a  small,  innocent  nation  as  one  of 
the  most  terrible  crimes  ever  committed  by 
a  nation  claiming  to  rank  high  among  civi- 
lised peoples. 

The  plea  that  "military  necessity"  justi- 
fied the  destruction  of  an  innocent  people, 
that  the  invasion  of  Belgium  was  necessary 
as  a  measure  of  "self-defence,"  Americans 
consider  as  striking  proof  of  the  essential 
barbarity  of  the  German  Government.  A 
man  who  would  shoot  down  an  innocent  girl 
in  order  to  get  at  another  man  would  be 
condemned  as  the  worst  kind  of  a  brute. 
A  Government  which  slaughters  an  inno- 
cent and  peaceful  people  in  order  to  get  at 
an  enemy  Government  is  universally  re- 
garded by  Americans  as  the  worst  type  of  a 
[81] 


My  German  Correspondence 

barbarous  Government.  No  truly  civilised 
Government  could  be  so  brutally  selfish  as 
to  protect  itself  by  inflicting  the  horrors  of 
fearful  war  upon  a  helpless  and  unoffending 
people. 

You  dismiss  the  question  of  atrocities  by 
asking  if  Americans  can  believe  that  such 
Germans  as  I  know  would  commit  such  aw- 
ful deeds.  The  reply  to  this  is  that,  while 
Americans  realise  that  there  are  many  Ger- 
mans who  would  rather  die  than  do  a  cruel 
act,  Germany  possesses  a  military  Govern- 
ment which  has  convinced  Americans  and 
the  rest  of  the  world  that,  under  the  plea 
of  "military  necessity,"  it  will  commit  the 
most  barbarous  crimes.  History  demon- 
strates that  a  military  Government  stifles  the 
finer  instincts  of  the  people  which  support 
it.  Many  Germans  struggled  to  overthrow 
the  military  clique  in  Germany,  and  some 
of  them  are  among  the  most  gentle-hearted, 
kindly  souls  it  has  ever  been  my  good  for- 
tune to  meet.  Others  have  exalted  the  mili- 
tary and  the  idea  of  war;  and  while  board- 
ing in  the  home  of  a  German  army  officer  I 
witnessed  heartless  and  cruel  acts  which  I 
[82] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

do  not  believe  could  have  occurred  in  any 
other  civilised  country  among  people  of  the 
same  education  and  intelligence.  Unfortu- 
nately, Americans  see  no  opportunity  to 
doubt  the  barbarous  behaviour  of  the  Ger- 
man army;  and  in  the  debate  over  the  Za- 
bern  affair  some  of  your  best  citizens  re- 
belled against  military  brutality — but  the 
punishment  meted  out  to  the  military  of- 
fenders was  nullified  by  your  military  Gov- 
ernment. In  the  present  war  that  same 
Government  has  admitted  and  justified  un- 
speakable atrocities  under  the  plea  of 
"military  necessity."  *  Americans  do  not 
believe  every  lie  wafted  on  the  wings  of 
gossip ;  but  when  your  book  of  instructions 
to  army  officers  expressly  breaks  down  every 

*  The  proofs  of  atrocities  here  mentioned  may  now 
be  supplemented  by  the  frankly  brutal  advice  of  the 
German  minister  to  Argentina,  transmitted  to  his  gov- 
ernment through  the  connivance  of  Swedish  officials, 
that  the  ships  of  a  friendly  neutral  power  should  be 
"spurlos  versenkt."  This  explains  the  well  authenti- 
cated reports  that  German  submarines  have  fired  on 
life-boats  containing  non-combatant  men  and  women, 
in  the  attempt  to  destroy  all  witnesses  to  the  crime  of 
torpedoing  neutral  ships  without  warning. 
[83] 


My  German  Correspondence 

safeguard  for  civilised  warfare  by  justify- 
ing "exceptions"  to  the  rules  governing  such 
warfare,  Americans  cannot  fail  to  conclude 
that  your  Government  is  more  barbarous 
than  that  of  any  other  country  claiming  to 
be  civilised ;  for  other  countries  do  not  now 
recognise  the  right  of  armies  to  make  such 
exceptions.  Your  Government,  in  trying  to 
defend  itself  against  the  storm  of  world- 
criticism,  has  admitted  and  justified  the 
slaughter  of  innocent  hostages  as  a  "mili- 
tary necessity."  No  other  civilised  country 
does  this;  and  Americans  consider  the  Ger- 
man Government  both  brutal  and  barbar- 
ous for  permitting  this  utterly  inhuman 
practice.  American  soldiers  in  Vera  Cruz 
were  killed  by  franctireurs;  but  our  Gov- 
ernment would  hang  any  American  officer 
who  permitted  the  murder  of  innocent  hos- 
tages on  that  account.  Your  Government 
justifies  and  excuses  such  measures;  there- 
fore Americans  have  been  forced  to  con- 
clude that  your  Government  is  less  civilised 
than  are  the  Governments  of  America,  Eng- 
land, and  France,  which  forbid  such  con- 
duct 

[84] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

Your  Government  executed  a  woman  of 
noble  character,  and  defends  its  act  as  per- 
fectly legal  and  a  "military  necessity." 
Americans  are  quite  willing  to  admit  that 
Miss  Cavell  may  have  been  guilty  of  the 
charges  brought  against  her.  Yet  the  entire 
world  stood  horrified  when  the  Govern- 
ment of  Germany,  with  due  legal  form, 
committed  a  crime  against  womanhood  and 
against  humanity,  which  for  centuries  will 
make  Germans  blush  for  shame  when  the 
name  of  Miss  Cavell  is  mentioned.  Eng- 
lishmen blush  at  the  memory  of  Jeffreys 
but  no  Englishman  ever  defends  that  fiend- 
ish butcher  of  women.  Americans  blush  at 
the  memory  of  Mrs.  Surratt;  but  few  Amer- 
icans will  defend  her  execution.  The  fact 
that  Germans  have  risen  to  defend  the  Ca- 
vell atrocity  leads  many  Americans  to  con- 
clude that  the  brutalising  influence  of  mili- 
tarism has  made  the  mass  of  the  German 
people  less  humane  than  are  the  peoples  of 
other  countries,  since  they  defend  what 
other  peoples  condemn. 

Your  Government  has  bombarded  un- 
fortified seacoast  towns  which  Americans 
[85] 


My  German  Correspondence 

know  from  personal  observation,  both  be- 
fore the  war  and  during  the  bombardment, 
were  not  defended  in  any  way.  Mothers 
and  babies  were  blown  to  shreds,  but  no 
military  damage  was  done  in  most  cases. 
Dozens  of  helpless  old  men,  women  and 
children  were  killed  for  every  soldier  slain. 
The  same  is  true  of  your  Zeppelin  raids. 
Americans  believe  these  acts  are  committed 
for  the  purpose  of  stirring  up  enthusiasm 
among  the  German  populace.  They  believe 
such  acts  are  in  defiance  of  the  rules  of  civi- 
lised warfare,  that  they  are  utterly  inhuman 
and  barbarous,  and  that  a  nation  which  ap- 
proves and  applauds  such  senseless  slaugh- 
ter is  less  civilised  than  other  modern  na- 
tions. The  British  Government  has  stead- 
fastly refused  to  accede  to  the  clamour  of  a 
few  of  its  citizens  who  urge  a  policy  of 
wholesale  reprisals  against  German  open 
towns.  Americans  honour  this  respect  for 
the  rules  of  civilised  warfare  and  regret 
that  even  occasionally  France  has  yielded 
to  the  provocation  for  reprisal  raids  against 
such  a  place  as  Freiburg.  The  fact  that 
Germany  began  the  slaughter  of  babies  and 
[86] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

women  in  defiance  of  the  rules  of  war,  and 
has  kept  it  up  in  frequent  raids  by  warships, 
Zeppelins,  and  aeroplanes,  whereas  the  Al- 
lies have  very  seldom  attacked  open  towns, 
and  then  only  as  occasional  reprisals  follow- 
ing peculiarly  barbarous  German  attacks, 
has  won  for  Germany  the  condemnation, 
and  for  the  Allies  the  commendation  of  the 
civilised  world. 

The  Lusitania  atrocity  removed  from  the 
minds  of  the  American  people  the  last  pos- 
sible doubt  as  to  the  essential  barbarity  of 
the  German  Government.  No  other  Gov- 
ernment pretending  to  be  civilised  has  ever 
shocked  the  entire  world  by  such  a  sicken- 
ing crime  against  humanity.  It  is  utterly 
inconceivable  that  the  American  nation 
could  descend  so  low  in  the  scale  of  hu- 
manity as  to  order  the  deliberate  destruc- 
tion of  an  English  ship  bearing  hundreds 
of  innocent  German  women  and  children 
across  the  seas.  But  if  such  a  thing  were 
conceivable,  you  could  not  find  in  the  Amer- 
ican navy  an  officer  who  would  obey  the  in- 
human order.  Nor  do  Americans  believe 
that  the  English  or  French  Governments 
[87] 


My  German  Correspondence 

could  ever  disgrace  their  countries'  honour 
by  such  a  barbarous  act.  I  am  shocked  and 
surprised  that  a  man  of  your  position  and 
intelligence  can  find  it  in  his  heart  to  de- 
fend an  act  which  has  for  ever  stained  the 
fair  name  and  honour  of  your  country. 

I  read  with  amazement  your  assertions 
that  the  Lusltania  was  armed,  that  she  car- 
ried ammunition  in  defiance  of  American 
laws,  and  that  our  official  inspection  of  her 
was  careless.  Your  own  Government  has 
itself  abandoned  the  false  charge  that  the 
Lusltania  carried  guns,  and  no  longer  makes 
such  a  ridiculous  claim;  while  the  German 
reservist  who  pretended  to  have  seen  the  gun 
has  admitted  that  he  lied  and  is  now  serving 
a  term  in  prison  for  perjury.  You  are  not 
familiar  with  American  shipping-laws 
which  expressly  permit  the  carrying  of  cer- 
tain types  of  ammunition  on  passenger  ves- 
sels, and  you  are,  of  course,  quite  ignorant 
as  to  what  inspection  of  the  vessel  was  made 
in  New  York,  for  you  were  in  Germany  at 
the  time.  Your  assertions  were  made 
wholly  on  the  basis  of  the  false  statements 
furnished  you  in  Government-controlled 
[88] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

papers.  You  had  no  means  of  determining 
the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  statements,  on  the 
basis  of  reliable  and  impartial  evidence; 
yet  you  did  not  hesitate  to  make  assertions 
which  your  own  Government  now  practi- 
cally admits  were  not  well  founded.  The 
fact  that  the  learned  men  of  Germany  have 
throughout  the  war  violently  supported  the 
German  position  by  reckless  charges  and 
wild  assertions,  paying  no  regard  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  basing  such  charges  and  assertions 
on  impartial  evidence,  instead  of  accepting 
with  childlike  simplicity  the  unsupported 
statements  of  the  German  Government,  has 
destroyed  the  confidence  of  Americans  in 
the  ability  of  the  German  educated  men  to 
think  and  reason  fairly  and  honestly  about 
the  war. 

The  manifestos  of  the  German  professors, 
issued  to  Americans,  did  much  to  alienate 
American  sympathy  from  Germany;  for  the 
bitterness  and  unreasoning  fury  of  the  docu- 
ments, combined  with  the  entire  absence  of 
evidence  to  support  the  many  reckless  state- 
ments made  in  them>  did  much  to  convince 
Americans  that  the  German  position  was 
[89] 


My  German  Correspondence 

not  capable  of  honest,  logical,  dispassionate, 
manly  defence.  There  has  never  at  any 
time  been  any  such  outbreak  of  fury  and  bit- 
terness among  the  English  or  French  peo- 
ple. While  there  are  individual  exceptions, 
taken  as  a  whole  the  press,  pamphlets,  and 
private  letters  of  the  English  and  French, 
dealing  with  the  war,  have  from  the  first 
been  characterised  by  a  self-control  and 
calm  determination,  which  in  the  case  of 
the  French  has  especially  astonished  Ameri- 
cans ;  for  we  expected  the  French  to  be  more 
excitable.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  Teutonic 
literature  has  from  the  first  been  character- 
ised by  an  uncontrollable  bitterness  and  vio- 
lent denunciation  of  the  enemy  and  of 
neutrals;  which  has  also  surprised  Ameri- 
cans, for  we  expected  you  to  be  more  logical 
and  self-contained  than  the  French,  instead 
of  less  so. 

Americans  believe  that  the  German  peo- 
ple are  a  great  people,  capable  of  great  and 
good  things.  They  honour  and  admire  the 
Germany  which  finds  her  best  expression  in 
the  literature,  music,  and  science  which  has 
justly  made  you  famous.  But  they  distrust 
[90] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

and  abhor  the  German  Government  which 
has  made  the  name  of  Germany  infamous. 
The  heroic  bravery  of  the  German  soldiers 
dying  for  their  Fatherland,  and  the  heroic 
fortitude  of  the  German  women  who  bear 
and  suffer  all — fail  to  evoke  any  enthusiasm 
in  this  country,  or  in  other  neutral  coun- 
tries, because  of  the  stain  which  the  Ger- 
man military  Government  has  put  upon 
their  sacrifices.  Your  greatest  victories 
bring  no  world  honour  to  your  armies  be- 
cause of  the  cloud  of  dishonour  which  hangs 
over  every  achievement  of  the  German  mili- 
tary machine.  There  is  no  enthusiasm,  and 
very  little  praise,  for  the  captors  of  War- 
saw and  Vilna,  for  Americans  remember 
that  it  was  German  soldiers  who  murdered 
innocent  hostages  from  "military  necessity," 
who  destroyed  much  of  Louvain  from  "mil- 
itary necessity,"  who  violated  every  rule  of 
civilised  warfare  and  humanity  in  Belgium 
from  "military  necessity,"  who  executed  a 
noble  English  nurse  from  "military  neces- 
sity," who  wrecked  priceless  monuments  of 
civilisation  in  France  from  "military  neces- 
sity," who  have  dropped  bombs  from  the 
[91] 


My  German  Correspondence 

sky  in  the  darkness  upon  sleeping  women 
and  children  in  unfortified  places,  and 
slaughtered  hundreds  of  innocent  non-com- 
batants from  "military  necessity,"  who  sent 
babes  at  the  breast  and  their  innocent 
mothers  shrieking  and  strangling  to  a 
watery  grave  in  mid-ocean  from  "military 
necessity,"  and  who  have  defended  every 
barbarous  act,  every  crime  against  humanity 
on  the  specious  and  selfish  plea  that  it  was 
justified  by  "military  necessity."  Your 
Government  has  robbed  your  soldiers  of  all 
honour  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  by  making 
them  the  instruments  of  a  military  policy 
which  the  rest  of  the  world  unanimously 
condemns  as  brutal  and  barbarous. 

It  seems  to  thoughtful  Americans  who 
know  Germany  and  Germans  best,  that  the 
highest  duty  of  intelligent  German  profes- 
sors like  yourself  is  not  to  attempt  the  hope- 
less task  of  converting  the  rest  of  the  world 
to  an  approval  of  the  methods  of  the  Ger- 
man Government,  but  rather  to  use  your 
whole  influence  to  establish  a  German  Gov- 
ernment which  shall  have  a  decent  respect 
for  the  opinions  of  the  rest  of  the  world, 
[92] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

and  shall  restore  Germany  to  the  place  it 
used  to  have  among  civilised  nations.  Your 
greatest  enemy  is  not  the  Russian,  nor  the 
French,  nor  the  British  Government.  They 
might  defeat  you  in  war,  but  they  never 
could  take  away  your  honour.  Your  great- 
est enemy  is  the  Government  which  has 
dragged  the  fair  name  of  Germany  in  the 
mire  of  dishonour,  shocking  the  moral  in- 
stincts of  the  whole  world  by  acts  no  other 
civilised  country  would  think  of  commit- 
ting. Your  greatest  enemy  is  the  Govern- 
ment which  stifles  your  individual  develop- 
ment by  making  you  the  obedient  tools  of 
the  "State,"  which  smothers  your  free 
thought  by  a  muzzled  press  under  police 
control,  which  makes  your  learned  men 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  by  train- 
ing them  to  blind,  unthinking  support  of 
the  Government  and  credulous  belief  in 
whatever  falsehoods  it  chooses  to  impose 
upon  you  for  military  and  political  pur- 
poses, which  hurls  you  into  a  disastrous  war 
without  your  knowledge  or  consent,  and 
which  brings  down  upon  you  the  contempt 
of  the  whole  world  for  crimes  you  would 
[93] 


My  German  Correspondence 

not  yourselves  commit,  but  which  you  must 
forsooth  defend  "for  the  good  of  the 
State." 

Americans  believe  that  a  Government 
which  provokes  a  war  and  deceives  its  peo- 
ple to  secure  their  support,  should  be  de- 
stroyed; that  a  Government  which  breaks 
its  treaties  and  murders  an  innocent  neutral 
nation,  should  be  destroyed ;  that  a  Govern- 
ment which  slaughters  innocent  hostages  to 
prevent  sniping  by  those  whose  homes  are 
violently  attacked,  should  be  destroyed; 
that  a  Government  which  systematically 
and  repeatedly  bombards  unfortified  towns 
and  villages,  killing  hundreds  of  innocent 
women  and  children,  should  be  destroyed; 
that  a  Government  which  torpedoes  un- 
armed passenger  ships,  drowning  helpless 
men,  women,  and  children  by  the  thousand 
in  shameful  defiance  of  law  and  every  in- 
stinct of  humanity,  should  be  destroyed; 
that  a  Government  which  in  cold  blood  exe- 
cutes a  woman  nurse  like  Miss  Cavell 
should  be  destroyed;  that  a  Government 
which  ruthlessly  destroys  works  of  art  and 
monuments  of  civilisation  and  levies  crush- 
[94] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

ing  indemnities  on  captured  cities,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  well-established  laws  of  war, 
should  be  destroyed.  In  the  opinion  of 
Americans,  a  Government  which  did  any 
one  of  these  things  would  not  be  fit  to  exist 
in  a  civilised  world.  A  Government  which 
has  done  all  of  them  and  much  more  that  is 
equally  barbarous  and  brutal,  must,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  American  people,  be  utterly 
destroyed. 

Americans  hoped  for  many  long  years 
that  the  German  people  would  themselves 
throw  off  the  incubus  of  the  military  Gov- 
ernment which  was  crushing  out  their  indi- 
viduality and  making  their  country  an  ob- 
ject of  distrust  and  fear  to  all  those  inter- 
ested in  the  progress  of  civilisation;  but  if 
you  will  not  rid  yourselves  of  the  monster 
which  has  dishonoured  and  disgraced  you 
before  the  world,  then,  in  American  opin- 
ion, the  safety  of  the  world  and  the  future 
of  Germany  require  that  the  present  Ger- 
man Government  shall  be  destroyed 
through  military  defeat.  For  this  reason 
the  American  people  are  praying  earnestly 
for  Allied  victory.  While  there  is  a  sincere 
[95] 


My  German  Correspondence 

effort  to  maintain  the  technical  neutrality  * 
enjoined  by  the  President,  there  is  no  neu- 
trality possible  on  the  moral  issues  involved. 
Americans  may  not  violate  the  neutrality  of 
the  nation  by  giving  concerted  military  sup- 
port to  the  Allies;  but  they  are  practically 
unanimous  in  giving  their  whole  moral  sup- 
port to  the  nations  engaged  in  the  necessary 
task  of  destroying  the  monstrosity  of  Prus- 
sian militarism.  Every  aid  which  they  can 
render  the  Allies  without  violating  national 
neutrality  is  being  given,  not  because  they 
do  not  admire  the  German  people,  but  be- 
cause the  destruction  of  the  present  German 
Government  is  regarded  as  the  essential  first 
step  in  enabling  the  German  people  to  re- 
turn to  the  place  of  honour  they  once  held 
in  the  world.  Americans  would  regard  ulti- 
mate German  victory  as  an  intolerable  dis- 
aster to  civilisation;  and  they  will  never  be 
satisfied  until  the  German  armies  are  de- 
cisively defeated.  They  believe  that  the 
ultimate  defeat  of  Germany  is  assured,  and 

*  Happily  the  references  to  neutrality  are  no  longer 
pertinent.     Otherwise  the  statements  are  more  true 
than  on  the  day  they  were  written. 
[96] 


Reply  to  the  German  Professor 

that  the  least  suffering  will  result  to  the 
German  people  if  they  will  themselves  re- 
pudiate the  Government  which  brought 
upon  them  their  present  sufferings,  and  will 
start  anew  with  a  modern  Government  re- 
sponsible to  the  will  of  the  people. 
Sincerely  yours, 

DOUGLAS  W.  JOHNSON. 


The  statement  "There  is  no  censorship  of  the  Amer- 
ican Press"  (page  42)  describes  the  conditions  under 
which  American  opinion  was  actually  formed,  when 
Germany  was  at  war  and  America  still  neutral.  It 
may  be  noted,  however,  that  even  in  times  of  peace 
the  German  press  was  more  effectually  controlled  by 
the  government  than  is  the  American  press  in  time  of 
war.  The  refusal  of  Congress  to  pass  the  press  cen- 
sorship bill  desired  by  the  Administration  is  significant 
of  the  temper  of  the  American  people  touching  this 
point. 


[97]' 


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IN  STACKS 

MAR  30 1960 


50m-8,'26 


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389664 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


